"Feed the Second Line" project supports local artists with free groceries, deliveries, and employment

Devin De Wulf is the founder of Krewe of Red Beans, a Carnival krewe based in New Orleans. His wife, an ER doctor, has shown him the stress of being a frontline worker when COVID-19 hit their community. On March 16th, a nurse brought cookies to share with all the workers in his wife’s ER. De Wulf cites this moment as the inspiration for his two projects: Feed The Front Line and Feed the Second Line.

Feed the Front Line is a project which delivers meals from restaurants to hospital workers, aiming to support local businesses and provide a morale boost to those working closest to the pandemic. By the end of this campaign, Krewe of Red Beans had donated over a million dollars worth of meals to frontline and healthcare workers in the area. 

While the #feedthefrontline project has ended, Krewe of Red Beans has started a new campaign: Feed the Second Line. That “Second Line” refers to the “culture-bearers of New Orleans”. De Wulf describes New Orleans as a city “full of vibrancy,” but one that has often failed to support its culture-bearers beyond the promotion of tourism. “The majority of our musicians, artists, and culture-creators are working-class people. Occasionally someone will get famous, but the majority are regular people”. A number of these people are elderly and particularly at risk for COVID-19 in the months to come. For this reason, the team at Krewe of Red Beans felt it was particularly important to support them during the coming months. 

Feed the Second Line is a collaborative effort involving Krewe of Red Beans, Rouses Markets, Market Umbrella Market), the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic & Assistance Foundation, and the Preservation Hall Foundation. The new project focuses on the rich cultural history of New Orleans and pays homage to the artists that make the city what it is. It works by pairing “musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, Social Aid & Pleasure Club members, artists, and other cultural figures throughout New Orleans” with younger counterparts to help them with shopping and household chores. The organization provides free groceries and contactless delivery for the vulnerable populations and employs the younger creators that have lost their source of income because of the pandemic. Elders choose from a list of groceries, including the ability to opt-in for produce from the local farmers’ markets. In addition, they received a mixture of prepared food from participating restaurants.

Image Source: Devin De Wulf

One notable part of the project is its focus on working with locally-owned restaurants. De Wulf noted that this was a further way to support their community: “We have to think about local [businesses] as much as possible now. Our city is special because of our smaller, locally-owned restaurants. They are treasures and our city wouldn't be the same without them. You have to imagine which restaurants people in the community would be sad "if it were gone". No one will shed a tear for a fast-food chain restaurant leaving. But the neighbourhood restaurant with amazing food - that would be something to cry over. So we must protect them.”

Krewe of Red Beans is currently accepting donations to fund the project. Not a penny of your donation will go to administration costs unless it is towards the culture-bearers hired by the project to help with groceries and household chores. Instead, “[a]ll of the money will go to buying food, hiring younger musicians, artists, and a tiny bit will go towards creating items we can sell to raise more money long term (like 8x10 cards, posters, t-shirts).” 

Last Friday was the first delivery of prepared food and farmers market boxes to eighty-four elders - some of whom have already reached out to thank the project. De Wulf is hopeful for its future success, given the growing community support and the positive impact it has already been able to make. De Wulf notes that despite it being early days, the project “has been uplifting and provides a little hope”. Krewe of Red Beans is confident in their team and bolstered by the support of fellow artists in their tight-knit community. When we asked De Wulf for his advice on how to support our own communities, he suggested taking a step back to consider what things you care about where you live and then trying to take time or money to support them. For artists who might be struggling during these times, he encouraged them to “stay positive and channel all your feelings into more art”. 

Image Source: www.feedthesecondline.org

Finally, it only seemed fitting to ask De Wulf how we could gain insight into New Orleans’ rich cultural background. He suggested three things. First, the music (“Hot 8 Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Jon Cleary, and so many others”); second, the costumes and carnival culture (“Mardi Gras Indians, Northside Skull and Bones Gang, Krewe of Red Beans”); and finally, the local food (“Gumbo, Beans and Rice, PoBoys, Dooky Chase, Coquette…”). 

Thank you to Devin and the team at Feed the Second Line for talking to us about their project! We’re grateful for the people that have created a way for us to contribute to the cause while remaining safe, and for taking care of those that are fighting hard for our rights and abilities to remain safe! If you would like to donate to Feed the Second Line, visit: https://www.feedthesecondline.org/.