New Orleans Activism Satisfies Hunger and Feeds the Soul
Volunteer Karen Marshall picking up groceries for a New Orleans elder musician. //Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Katie Sikora, courtesy of Feed the Second Line.
““we’re focusing on the elders, knowing that their staying home is the safest thing. We’re doing it in very personal way. We’re bringing them food fresh from the market and healthy meals, and we’re building relationships. Deliveries are made by young musicians and artists; there’s a link there.”—Devin DeWulf, Founder/Chief Organizer, Feed the Second Line
New Orleans is a hot zone again, and not because the temperature's high or the musicians are all playing in the pocket.
Devin Du Wulf
No, COVID-19 virus cases are on the rise once more in New Orleans and other areas of Louisiana. That means, in fact, that none of the jazz, blues, or parade brass band music for which New Orleans is famous has been sounding through the streets.
Knowing that local musicians and artists have been struggling during the pandemic and that many at-risk elders needed to stay home, compelled Devin De Wulf to action. In late April, he started Feed the Second Line (FTSL), an organization that pays young musicians and artists to shop for and deliver free groceries to the city's elder cultural heroes.
De Wulf says: "In times of calamity, you can fret and do nothing or you can fret and do what you can."
As the founder of the local Krewe of Red Beans Parade (started in 2008), he says: "I’m a culture creator. I understand the seriousness of losing an elder musician or parade performer. If you lose them, you may lose their art form for generations. They are irreplaceable."
He started out simply delivering groceries to musicians on his own, including beloved 82-year-old musician, Mr. Benny Jones.
De Wulf says: "Mr. Benny Jones has been [playing as well as] teaching young musicians for decades. He is most likely the nicest man you will ever meet and has been a fixture in the brass band and jazz community. Helping him stay out of the grocery store now is important as he is a treasure."
A Focus on New Orleans Culture Bearers
De Wulf realized that what he was doing could be done, should be done on a bigger scale. "New Orleans is largely a street culture. A lot of people who create the culture don’t have a lot of resources and there isn’t a social safety net, and so many of them are elderly; they hold the traditions. With Feed the Second Line, we’re recognizing the culture bearers."
This is where his parade experience kicked in, as well as skills he developed as a school teacher.
Mr. Benny Jones, Treme Brass Band Leader.
DeWulf says: "School teachers have to do backwards planning. Envision a goal and think through the tiny steps to achieve that goal." From parade organizing: "We would have a very elaborate charity event with a lot of pieces: artists, volunteer coordination, budgeting. I’ve done that for years."
Though there are other food relief efforts in New Orleans, for access people have to drive or walk there. FTSL fills a gap in that “we’re focusing on the elders, knowing that their staying home is the safest thing. We’re doing it in very personal way. We’re bringing them food fresh from the market and healthy meals, and we’re building relationships. Deliveries are made by young musicians and artists; there’s a link there.”
They know that connections matter.
Christian Davenport, known as Cubs the Poet, is a spokesperson for FTSL and also delivers food every week. He told De Wulf that he "‘enjoys talking about jazz with some of New Orleans finest musicians and how jazz music influenced people of all backgrounds to come together. Dancing away our pains and struggles while strengthening our happiness and love.’"
De Wulf says of the special efforts: "We're not just satisfying hunger; we're also feeding the soul. We're giving them choice, and dignity. We want to show love through food."
Also, they know that if they are able to pay for someone’s groceries then that person has money for other things.
The pandemic hit at a particularly devastating time for New Orleans musicians. The peak time, most lucrative time of year for musicians in this city is April and May for the festivals, such as the French Quarter Fest and The Jazz Festival. But this year, they suddenly lost work opportunities with events cancelled and clubs closed. Being in the midst of a long, slow hot summer without having had the money-making months has hit them hard.
A "Well-Run, Feel-Good" Operation: Feed the Front Line
De Wulf knew that he and the FTSL crew had to make this work. Luckily, he had just spent six weeks on a highly successful similar project, called Feed the Front Line (FTFL). This operation helped keep local restaurant staff working while feeding pandemic-focused hospital workers.
Christian Davenport, known as Cubs The Poet, helps deliver food to New Orleans musicians. Photo by Ryan Hogsden-Rigsbee, courtesy of Feed the Second Line.
De Wulf had begun Feed the Front Line in mid-March, when COVID-19 virus first hit the city hard. His wife, an emergency room nurse, and her colleagues were stressed and exhausted, but got a lift one day when a nurse brought cookies to share.
That’s how he and his wife got the idea of sending in food.
De Wulf says they realized that "food is a morale boost. If you have really good food, everyone would be a little bit happier."
On March 16 they started with the first $60 hospital order and the FTFL service took off.
"Feed the Front Line was a gut response to what was happening. Everyone was quarantined. All we had was hope and prayers that things would get better, but over six weeks (through late April) we served almost $1 million worth of food. That's 90,000 meals, cookies, and coffee to all the hospitals in New Orleans.
De Wulf says: "We created an elaborate 'machine,'—a well-run, feel-good operation."
They took hospital worker meal orders, and with donations paid 49 different local restaurants to fill them, then paid musicians to deliver the food.
He's proud of what they accomplished. According to De Wulf, they fed 2,300 workers at 15 hospitals every day, several times a day. Half of the restaurant partners were women-owned businesses. One third were minority-owned businesses, and all were locally owned.
When word spread of what he and the FTFL team were doing, they received phone and email requests to help others start similar programs in other cities.
Though he shared advice, DeWulf says: "I was thinking mainly of the welfare of New Orleans people. I want my city and the people that live here to be well and as happy as possible. My focus was on saving the locally owned restaurants as they are local treasures."
Of the $1 million received in donations, $100,000 went to young musicians as salaries to deliver the meals, and $900,000 was spent in restaurants to keep them operating.
Once they weren't able to raise the needed $30,000 per day to make the large-scale operation make sense, they stopped. Then they switched focus to helping cultural elders.
Dream It, Plan It, Do It
Despite De Wulf's lack of official business experience, he was determined to work efficiently and spend carefully. He has also had the generous support of volunteer accountants, photographers, and fellow planners—all dedicated to the same mission.
"My favorite part of everything we’ve done is that we’ve not lost a dollar anywhere, De Wulf says. “New Orleans has a long history of corruption, like many places. But our efforts have been incredibly transparent and we have a good accounting of everything. We’re still making sure that everything is clearly tracked. We never thought we'd raise $1 million [on Feed the Front Line] but people responded generously with donations.
"It feels good to do it the right way. In times of catastrophe, we're proud to have the opportunity to make a positive local impact."
De Wulf and his team have been re-paid in simple ways, with thank-you cards from doctors and musicians, and there has been community encouragement to keep New Orleans thriving.
"When you present people with a vision and you exceed the expectations of your supporters, then they don’t want to see it stop," De Wulf says. "They’re cheering for it. It inspires people. It makes the dreary situation more hopeful. To have stories out there of good things happening."
De Wulf is currently operating Feed the Second Line as a project of the nonprofit Krewe of Red Beans parade organization, but with donations and community engagement, he would like to evolve it into its own continuing nonprofit organization to support New Orleans culture bearers.
De Wulf says: "I now understand much better how to create a local food system to feed thousands of people every day. It’s possible to create an elaborate local effort, because we’ve done it."
In fact, he adds: "With careful planning, you can dream up societal change and make it happen."
You can donate to Feed the Second Line here. []
