Community Member

Hollygrove Neighbors Association

New Orleans, Louisiana

Summer Camp 2018 hosted in the Hollygrove Community Garden.

Hollygrove is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, located in the city’s 17th Ward. In 1920, drainage systems and development began to lift it from being a low-lying swampland, a process which intensified in the 60s. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck, it seemed as though the water might be trying to take Hollygrove back as it flowed into the community. But there were strong bonds and a resiliency that stood the test of time and the neighborhood thrives today.

Hollygrove Community Garden food-give away in Fall 2018.
Hollygrove Neighbors Association community event in the garden in Fall 2018.

In 2005, the Hollygrove Neighbors Association (HNA) came together as a civic group working to inform and engage its diverse population on ways to collaborate and build coalitions, keeping Hollygrove a strong and vibrant community with a strong network of partners. It is led by a group of volunteer residents serving as Board members committed to keeping Hollygrove sustainable, strong and vibrant.

Dee Dee Green, HNA Board Member, speaking at a press conference for the release of the Climate Action and Equity Report in September 2019 at the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Working with Peace by Piece New Orleans, who are mobilizing Black youth and young adults through political education and community organizing, HNA supports the Hollygrove Community Garden which has produced an estimated 500 lbs. of produce since 2018. They have hosted produce give-aways and free summer camps for neighborhood youth. The garden has been expanding to create a schoolyard garden at a neighborhood school and two vacant lots in Hollygrove. 

In July 2020, Peace by Piece and Hollygrove Neighbors Association hosted a food giveaway—providing 250 residents with fresh produce, hot meals, and turkeys. CFreedom Photography.
Hollygrove Neighbors Association community members attending a food give-away event in the garden in March 2021. Credits to Blair Minnard.

So far, 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 young people to support Peace by Piece programming. 
For the past five years, Peace by Piece New Orleans has worked with Hollygrove Neighbors Association to increase local, fresh food access.
CFreedom Photography.

Written by Michele Gielis

Links

Responding to COVID and working for racial justice in New Orleans, AFSC, By Dee Dee Green, Aug 27, 2020

Healing oneself, healing the community: New Orleans Peace by Piece program, AFSC,  By Sophia Perlmutter, Oct 26, 2018

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

Building sustainable and equitable Black communities

Michele Gielis

Michele Gielis

Michele has spent the last decade helping nonprofits raise their voice for change. She looks to make action meaningful by connecting people to the technology and messages that bring resonance and resilience. Michele is proud to support the Anthropocene Alliance working to get communities to #HigherGround

Contact

Dee Dee Green
Area Program Director
American Friends Service Committee New Orleans

Social Media

Facebook

Climate Impacts

Flooding

Strategies

Community Farm/Gardens, Halting Bad Development, Nature-Based Solutions, Renewable Energy

501c3 Tax Deductible

Yes

Accepting Donations

No