Notes

Krewe Behind Feed The Front Line Launches Feed The Second Line
Feed The Front Line Nola

When Chef Nathanial Zimet got an order for 110 meals from his restaurant in Uptown New Orleans, he was just days away from closing his doors. It was one week into the stay at home order issued by the governor of Louisiana in response to the COVID-19 crisis, and businesses everywhere were suffering. After buying 24,000 meals, New Orleans effort to save restaurants is surviving day by day. The Krewe of Red Beans is know for its suits, which are decorated with food items such as beans, rice, lentils, bay leafs, peas among other things and inspired by the intricate bead work of Mardi Gras Indians.

Al "Carnival Time" Johnson joined them as the grand marshal. They decided to repeat the parade the following Lundi Gras. “We’ve tried to do a lot, but heavy on our mind was that while we’re certainly being hit hard in our industry by this, the real heroes are in the hospital,” says Martin. When one of her managers discovered Devin De Wulf and the Krewe of Red Beans’ Feed the Front Line NOLA initiative, Martin immediately called De Wulf to offer support. To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Krewe of Red Beans moved fast. Feed the Front Line was created first, bringing in a large number of donations quite quickly.

Instead of just hiring volunteers to make the deliveries, DeWulf prefers to hire out-of-work musicians. He’s also hired artists to create Feed the Frontline’s marketing campaign. Musicians and artists out of work are hired to deliver the food. Cyndi Nguyen, New Orleans City Council member, and her staff are distributing baby food, diapers and food items across New Orleans East to those who have requested assistance.

In 2021 Sean completed residency at Stoveworks in Chattanooga, TN. Coupled with his time as a health educator, he has led art classes that focus on helping students find their own creative voice through journal and mask making. Sean has created works to reflect identity and history, while sparking ideas in the minds of viewers. Sean is the recipient of the 2021 Emerging Artist Residency at the Santa Fe Art Institute and the jury selected winner of the, And Now for Something New Vol. Due to this print being part of a campaign, orders will be printed on a weekly basis not including shipping policy days. In New Orleans, Chef’s Brigade was formed swiftly after shutdowns began in March.

“We chose the name Feed the Front Line NOLA because the hospital workers were the ones protecting us,” says De Wulf. “They were the best line of defense that we as a community had. Local art is the lifeblood of our culture and communities. We source work from hundreds of painters, muralists, sculptors, metal workers, printmakers, illustrators, photographers, and textile artists, every one of whom is part of your local community. A team of 14 musicians, otherwise out of work, were paid through the donation pool to deliver the meals, working out regular protocols with restaurants and hospitals to minimize contact.

Because The Krewe of Red Beans is already a 501 nonprofit, its was able to pivot quickly to respond to this pandemic to launch Feed the Front Line NOLA, which has raised nearly $800,000 in its first month. On this episode, we speak with Devin about the work #FeedtheFrontLinesNola is doing and also speak with two local restaurant owners, Lisa Nelson of Queen Trini Lisa and Nathanial Zimmet of Boucherie and Bouree. This initiative pairs older musicians and artists with their younger counterparts to help them get groceries and household supplies. The idea is to help older members of the community with minimal contact while younger members get employment in the absence of their regular gigs. Ready-to-eat meals from Boucherie are delivered to over-worked medical staff at Ochsner Health Center West Bank as a part of the Feed the Front Line campaign. The post How one Mardis Gras parade organizer is uniting an entire community appeared first on In The Know.

He compared organizing this massive initiative to the fleeting thrill of preparing a costume for a parade. If you can't imagine New Orleans without New Orleans Public Radio, pleasedonate today. And if you can't imagine Baton Rouge without WRKF,donate here. Co-founder Leticia Casildo is an undocumented immigrant from Honduras. The effort is a collaboration of nine women who are local farmers and flower growers. Started by Jasmine Araujo, Southern Solidarity is a group of volunteers working out of Araujo’s home in the Marigny.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the prints will provide much needed income for local artists and drive donations for #FeedtheFrontLineNOLA. One more piece of the Feed the Front Line NOLA effort continues. The group commissioned six local artists to create original work based on a photo taken by Katie Sikora during one the food deliveries to Tulane Medical Center. The works were printed with the slogan “NOLA Healthcare Won’t Bow Down,” and they appear around the city as posters, banners and yard signs. If you donate two meals to frontline workers, the brand will donate a third. Meals4Heroes is a volunteer-based organization accepting donations to feed New York City frontline workers including doctors, nurses and EMTs, and tip restaurant staffers.

New Orleans Second Line Parade

Reporter Emily Woodruff shares weekly updates and insights on local health news, including COVID coverage and medical research. A grassroots effort to support independent New Orleans restaurants during the coronavirus shutdowns has come to an end, though its blueprint is now being applied to other parts of the city’s cultural landscape. Epidemics from yellow fever and cholera to the 1918 flu pandemic have tragically impacted New Orleans over the past 300 years. These periods of crisis have had a profound impact on the economic and emotional well-being of the city and region. As the most significant public health crisis in over a century, the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. The city has endured a heartbreaking loss of human life, the interruption of cherished traditions, and deep economic hardship.

When Louis Armstrong left King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band to form his own band in 1925, he expanded the solo abilities of the cornet and trumpet. Whereas Bolden, Keppard, and Oliver were known for their rough and affected sounds (through mutes or wah-wahs), Armstrong developed a more pure cornet and trumpet tone, without affects or vocalization. His sound helped define the more modern jazz of the late 1920s, and was one of the most imitated jazz styles for decades. Armand J. Piron, leader of his New Orleans Orchestra, was one of the few to use a violin as a lead voice in an orchestra setting.

It's part of a public art campaign from Feed the Front Lines NOLA to boost spirits and support artists during the coronavirus fight. Due to this print being part of a campaign, orders will be printed on a weekly basis not including shipping policy days. Additional second lines, large or small, may be held for any event which people think merits hiring a parading band for such a style of celebration, including weddings and opening of businesses. It’s in our DNA as New Orleanians to be together, that is why this current crisis has hit us especially hard since ‘doing our part’ means staying home. However, there are essential workers on the front lines fighting this pandemic relentlessly, and need our help. Sofia Serves is an initiative from Sofia NOLA to help support Doctors, Nurses, and frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19.

The death rate and the isolation caused by the pandemic made it difficult to pay proper respect to those who passed away. Local embalmers like Stephanie Simon of Rhodes Funeral Home faced long hours, loneliness, and exhaustion as they confronted a crisis that seemed to have no end. Cynthia Lee Sheng had only been Jefferson Parish president for two months before the diagnosis of a parish resident on March 9, 2020, necessitated a crisis response. She discusses the delicate balance of economic realities with public health concerns throughout the pandemic—a challenge that has tested local leaders nationwide.

He began his artistic practice as a landscape painter and over the years has transitioned into a variety of subjects that investigate the human condition. Sean is a self-taught artist who utilizes oil and acrylic paints, and collage materials. Sean’s mixed media piece, “Unresolved Grief” was featured in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative as a part of the organization's efforts to increase emotional awareness of mental health issues. In 2019 Sean was accepted into the Louisiana Contemporary at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. In 2020, Sean completed a 5 month residency at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. In 2021 Sean completed residency at Stoveworks in Chattanooga, TN. Coupled with his time as a health educator, he has led art classes that focus on helping students find their own creative voice through journal and mask making.

In the span of seven weeks, the effort brought in approximately $1 million in donations, which paid for more than 100,000 meals and snacks for healthcare workers. At one point, the group was spending close to $30,000 daily at local restaurants, buying several thousand meals, snacks and coffees from a rotating collection of them each day. African and African-American traditions continued throughout the "Code Noir" and Jim Crow eras in New Orleans. African-Americans formed Benevolent Societies and "Social, Aid & Pleasure Clubs" because white Insurance companies often refused to cover free people of color and/or the formerly enslaved. SAPCs assisted members through illness and supported families with burial costs for deceased members. This is a carry-over from African traditions that believed in celebrating the member's spirit leaving the body to return to the ancestors and God.

Tax deductible contributions to Feed the Second Line can be made directly to Krewe of Red Beans, a 5013 organization. The fraternal order of police and the firefighters association both say their members deserved the extra pay. Their argument centers on the fact the city is under an emergency order and City Hall workers have been told to stay home. Cops and firefighters in New Orleans will not receive emergency pay for their work handling the coronavirus pandemic. In New Orleans, Chef’s Brigade was formed swiftly after shutdowns began in March. This concept bundles local restaurants together as “brigades” to multiply their potential to feed first responders and others working in the coronavirus fight.

This African-culture-based/New Orleans phenomenon, has been captured and presented in other parts of the country; the HONK! Festival in Somerville, Massachusetts was started by the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band. Asheville, North Carolina has the Asheville Second Line Band, which marches at parades and other local events. Oakland, California has a growing Mardi Gras celebration including parades organized by the Oakland Second Line Project and the Brass Boppers. In Duluth, Minnesota The Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe hosts their annual "Run, Smelt, Run!" second line parade every spring to celebrate the smelt run. A Second Line parade was featured in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die.

Kyle Fehrenbach, a sound engineer who was laid off from multiple jobs with the shutdown of bars and restaurants nationwide, delivers ready-to-eat meals for medical staff at Ochsner Medical Center West Bank in New Orleans. Kyle Fehrenbach, a sound engineer who was laid off from multiple jobs with the shutdown of bars and restaurants nationwide, delivers ready-to-eat meals for over-worked medical staff at Oschner Medical Center West Bank . Then he got the call from Devin De Wulf, who wanted to send more than 100 meals to the medical providers working in New Orleans hospitals during the COVID-19 crisis.
Read More: https://magic.ly/feedthefrontlinenola