Hollygrove Neighbors Association

The Hollygrove Neighbors Association (HNA) was founded in 2005 to inform and engage its diverse New Orleans, LA community on ways to collaborate and build coalitions after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Committed to keeping Hollygrove sustainable, strong and vibrant, HNA works with Peace by Piece New Orleans to mobilize Black youth and young adults through political education and community organizing. They support the Hollygrove Community Garden, which serves as a gathering space for youth and neighbors to gain access to healthy and organic produce. Since 2018, the garden has distributed more than 5,100 pounds of produce, such as watermelon, sweet potatoes, and a variety of greens; hosted community food shares for 790 residents; registered 60 youth for free Peace by Piece summer camps, where they learn neighborhood history, Black history, methods of sustainability; and provided paid internships for 21 youth to support Peace by Piece programming.   

Hollygrove residents run HNA’s projects and activities and act as the group’s board of directors. One of the board members is Dee Dee Green, who is also the area program director for American Friends Service Committee New Orleans, one of HSA’s partners. HSA also collaborates with St. Peter A.M.E. Church to maintain and extend the community garden project. The project has expanded to a schoolyard, vacant lots, and a greenhouse for year-round growing and has established a community refrigerator where frozen and perishable food is stocked and available for free. In addition to sustainably grown food and donated hams and turkeys, HNA distributes helpful information. Its active Facebook page alerts members to neighborhood litter cleanups, back-to-school giveaways, and holiday events, as well as candidate forums, community office hours when they can speak with city personnel and information sessions. Neighbors help each other in making a more economically and climate-resilient community.

For more information:

Building sustainable and equitable Black communities – AFSC, April 2021

Responding to COVID and working for racial justice in New Orleans – AFSC, August 2020

Healing oneself, healing the community: New Orleans Peace by Piece program – AFSC, October 2018

GiveNola.Org profile on the Hollygrove Community Garden with Peace by Piece and Hollygrove Neighborhood Association