[This is a continuation of the author's series on New Orleans lessons, to commemorate both her 10th anniversary of living in New Orleans , as well as the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.]

G is for Grassroots

When I started writing this entry, I thought I'd mention how grassy our city has become since the storm, list some websites, and move on to the letter H. Well, I got completely waterlogged in the waves of websites and groups that have sprung up since Katrina, along with existing groups that have regalvanized in this new era of activism. I found myself up way late, surfing from one site to another to another.

So I got up this morning and decided to go to the coffee shop to collect my thoughts, my usual remedy for overstimulation. Wouldn't you know, a working group from Common Ground sat down at the table next to me and began an orientation for some new volunteers. (How new? I overheard one of them ask, "What's a parish?") As I type these words, I can hear them discussing current projects such as anti-demolition work, OPP work, and Lower 9th rebuilding. If you're reading this blog in a New Orleans coffee shop, go ahead and ask around: chances are good that the caffeine addicts at the next table have either started their own non-profit or take part in one.

Now, there are groups for environmental matters: Rebuild Green and The Green Project. Groups to support musicians: the Backbeat Foundation, Tipitina's Foundation, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Groups to petition the government for change: Citizens for One New Orleans, Women of the Storm, the Katrina Information Network, and Levees.org. Groups to help displaced residents get back home: People's Organizing Committee, the St. Bernard Project, and groups to help rebuild: the Beacon of Hope Resource Center, Save NOLA, and Hands On New Orleans. Groups to explore the link between race, class and opression: The Katrina Research Project and Color of Change. Groups to boost the local economy: Staylocal.org and Desire NOLA. Groups to preserve New Orleans culture: Mondo Bizarro, The Neighborhood Story Project, the Ashe' Cultural Center, and the Backstreet Cultural Museum. There's even a group to keep the grass mowed at City Park, the aptly-named Mow Rons. I could go on and on, but I've already spent an insane amount of time online, researching these groups. If you want to see even more grassroots groups in the New Orleans area, check out this collection at New Orleans Network. And if you're sad that I left out your group, please mention it in a comment below.

Myself, it took a catastrophic disaster to get me back into volunteerism, as I got involved with the New Orleans Food Cooperative after Katrina did her worst. When I joined as a founding member back in November 2005, the NOFC was just about to open a storefront in the old Melonheads Cafe down in the Marigny. Heady on the can-do spirit filling the air, and conveniently out of work, I resolved to pitch in.

Even though the Melonheads plan fell through, I eventually joined the NOFC Board of Directors and helped facilitate our most tangible venture yet: securing a store room to build an inventory of natural, organic foods open to the public for purchase. Because it takes more money, volunteers, and expertise than we currently have to actually open a volunteer-run store, we currently order food in bulk online, with buying club members splitting cases of food to get better prices. Now that we have a storage room, our buying club can start stocking extra food to have on hand for the community. It's the first step towards opening a New Orleans Food Coop storefront, which would be such a cool alternative to Whole Foods. (For those of you reading this outside of the city, please know that there is nowhere outside of Whole Foods to get natural, organic groceries as all of our locally-owned natural-foods stores had to close down once the WF on Arabella opened. For those of you reading this blog in the New Orleans area, please check out our buying club's site to learn about getting natural food more cheaply!)

The main lesson I've learned in my grassroots career? The friends I've made through contributing to the NOFC have become such wonderful additions to my life, much better friends than I've ever made by hanging out at bars. So if you want to make a difference, or if you just need new friends, use any of the above links to go grassroots!