Our impact

pre-COVID, we were a pretty small bunch. We did an annual bean parade and a bean-tasting charity fundraiser called “Bean Madness”. It was fun, but we raised maybe 10k each year. Our entire budget was under 100k.

Then the pandemic hit and every thing changed.

We paraded like normal in 2020. Lundi Gras was beautiful that year.

Then a few days later, it seemed COVID was all over New Orleans.

Krewe leader, Devin De Wulf, happens to be married to a kind, hardworking, and passionate ER doctor, Dr. Annelies De Wulf of University Medical Center. At the time, Devin was a stay-at-home dad of a 5 and 3 year old. As Dr. De Wulf went to work on March 12th, it became clear that COVID was all over New Orleans. In fact, the city was hard-hit due to the unfortunate timing of our carnival that year. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world had celebrated Mardi Gras… Then a few days later, COVID was everywhere it seemed. It was us in New Orleans, Seattle, and New York City - the first three cities in America with the pandemic.

Each night, Dr. De Wulf would come home from work and share her day with her husband. As you can imagine, it was lots of stress and very scary. It was also very inspiring how the doctors and nurses were stepping up to risk their lives and support their city. On the third day, the very first thing Dr. De Wulf said to her husband when she came home was, “A nurse brought cookies”.

That inspired our first COVID effort, “Feed The Front LIne NOLA”.

A digital graphic with a blue background and orange and light blue scribble patterns. Text in the center reads 'Donate $' at the top, 'Day 1' in large white letters, '1100$ Raised!' in bold black letters, and a message below in orange states, 'Support NOLA restaurants + say thanks to our hospital staff with food-treats :)'.

Instagram post - March 17th, 2020

Tray of chocolate-covered marshmallow treats topped with colorful sprinkles, covered with plastic wrap.

The very first bit of food we sent to a local hospital. March 15th, 2020. A $60 order of Brigadeiros, a Brazilian yummy bon-bon like treat.

Illustration of two people wearing face masks, with the caption 'Won't Bow Down' and 'Nola's Healthcare'

artwork we commissioned - local artist Langston Allston for our effort, Feed The Front Line NOLA

We wanted to send “Food love” to our city’s nurses and ER doctors.. those risking their lives. We also knew this could support local restaurants, who were about to fight for their survival. We also realized, we could employ musicians to deliver the meals. It was a triple-win for our community.

Our effort, “Feed The Front Line NOLA” was the largest of its kind operation in America. We ended up raising over $1,000,000 and sending out 90,000+ meals, 10,000+ coffee and cookies to every ER and ICU in our city. This employed 35 musicians and supported 45 restaurants. We also tracked every penny of spending.

A thank you message from a restaurant expressing gratitude to volunteers of the Krewe of Red Beans for supporting Feed the Frontline NOLA, signed by Cindy Farnet from Joey K's, featuring a logo of a fingerprint with a crown and the hashtag #FEEDTHEFRONTLINENOLA.
A tribute message from a musician about the impact of COVID-19 on their career and community service, including acknowledgments to Red Beans organization and band members, with a cartoon fingerprint with a crown, and the hashtag #FEEDTHEFRONTLINENOLA.
Four healthcare workers standing outside a hospital near an emergency entrance, holding food trays and wearing scrubs and face masks.

This image by Katie Sikora became our “icon” during the campaign. We hired local artists to recreate this image in various forms. Posters went up around New Orleans.

A colorful artwork of two women wearing face masks with the text 'NOLA'S HEALTHCARE WON'T BOW DOWN' at the top and bottom of the image.

Since the Pelicans, our NBA team were not playing due to COVID, we adopted their “Won’t Bow Down” slogan as a rallying cry for our city’s healthcare workers. Unfortunately, we were threatened with a lawsuit by the Mardi Gras Indian Council over this. (It’s a traditional Mardi Gras Indian motto). Anyway, this work of art is by local artist, Brent Houzenga.

After “ Feed The Front Line NOLA” we kept going. We created our next effort, “Feed the Secondline”

  • musicians hired to grocery shop for elders

    musicians hired to grocery shop for elders

  • A man sitting on a beige couch holding a baton, surrounded by plastic bags on the floor, with colorful feathered and embroidered decorations on the couch beside him.

    One of our city's Black Masking Indians recieving groceries

  • People dressed in elaborate pink costumes with feathers and embroidered designs shopping in a grocery store aisle.

    our campaign to grow more support for the people that make our city so special, the culture bearers.

  • An older man sitting in front of a piano, holding a sign that reads 'For Love of the Culture' in colorful text, wearing a gray baseball cap and light blue shirt in a cozy room with photos and sheets of music around him.

    Our grandmarshal, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson was the inspiration for Feed The Second Line

About Feed The Second Line

We wanted to create more jobs for musicians. And we wanted to build a stronger safety net. Job creation and safety net became the mission. We also recruited a seperate board of directors for Feed The Secondline and worked to eventual get it to be it’s own organization.

Once the IRS approved the 501c3 status of Feed The Second Line (august 2021) we were able to split it from KRB. By the end of 2021, we had helped bring $250,000 worth of groceries to 129 culture-recipients. We had also created over $1,000,000 worth of jobs for 252 individuals in New Orleans. Musicians, Black Masking Indians, Babydolls, artists, and others.

Hurricane Ida

On August 29th, 2021 Hurricane Ida hit South Louisiana. We worked closely with Feed The Second Line to mobilize hurricane relief. Working tirelessly, we helped coordinate roof-tarping and hiring-musicians to deliver supplies to hard-hit areas in South Louisiana (as a way to create jobs for New Orleans musicians)

musicians and Black Masking Indians from New Orleans helping deliver supplies after Hurricane Ida.

Photos by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee

A woman in blue scrubs is handing a blanket to a man in a green shirt and white shorts while another man in an orange shirt looks on. They are outside next to an open white van, with a large tree and an end road sign nearby. There are blankets and boxes on the ground.
Three men unloading bags of supplies from a truck, one in the foreground holding large bags and wearing a shirt that says 'Love Your City'. The other two are in the truck, organizing or preparing more bags.
A man standing outdoors on a sidewalk, holding a pack of diapers in his right hand and several packs of baby wipes in his left arm. He is wearing sunglasses, a black cap tilted backward, a striped neck scarf, a gray t-shirt with purple sleeves that says "LOVE YOUR CITY," shorts, and checkered socks with black shoes.
People installing a large, colorful mural of a flamingo with a blue bill, surrounded by flowers and a white heron with outstretched wings on the front porch of a house.

Carnival 2021

As parades were cancelled, House Floats became a thing.

One artist, Caroline Thomas, reached out to us to see if we could help. An idea for “Hire A Mardi Gras Artist” took shape.

We took donations to put out-of-work float artists back to work - building beautiful House Floats. Each time we raised $15,000 we would draw a raffle from the donors.

From December 2020 to Feb. 4th 2021 we worked to create as many house floats as we could (to create more jobs!).

In all, we raised over $ 300,000, created 24 house floats, and created work for 48 individuals.

We also commissioned a few “People are king” murals and works of art around New Orleans to further celebrate Carnival (despite COVID).

photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee

Beanlandia is about creating a renewable resource for NOLA

A “people powered machine” that can activate in times of need - helping a community member or a larger disaster (like our next hurricane!).

In normal times, it’s building a strong community hub - one with all the things a vibrant community would have . Building the NOLA our of dreams.

A diagram titled "step 1: ponder our biggest challenges" with three main challenges: climate change in blue, social cohesion in pink, and crime/violence in purple. The climate change section mentions heat waves and hurricanes getting worse. The social cohesion section notes society is too divided, lacking trust, and has a history of racism. The crime/violence section highlights the need for long-term help for at-risk youth.
A house decorated with Mardi Gras theme murals, featuring musicians and a horse, with a Mardi Gras float scene on its front porch.
Screenshots of various news sources covering Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, including NPR, Garden & Gun, NY Times, The Times-Picayune, PBS New Hour, Forbes, and Food & Wine, with photos of Mardi Gras floats, parades, and decorated houses.
A colorful diagram illustrating how to build a vibrant community, centered around beanlandia. It includes points: culture, learning, connected people, team approach, children's programming, and sustainability with arrows connecting them to the central idea.