The education system in New Orleans faces a number of challenges, but one that has persisted throughout time is racial discrimination. As Orleans Parish School Board member Ethan Ashley stated, the city is experiencing two pandemics: Covid-19 and “the pandemic of systemic racism.” Structural racism has disadvantaged communities of color by enacting policies such as redlining, predatory lending by banks, unequal access to health care, school funding policies based on local property taxes, and teacher assignment patterns that place the least experienced teachers in the most disadvantaged schools.

This pride month, give back to the New Orleans community by learning and donating to House of Tulip, a local TGNC housing initiative started by Black and Trans individuals that aims to keep housing affordable in New Orleans while also providing LGBT+ and GNC individuals with economic opportunities and much more.

Amidst the pandemic, the affordable housing crisis has become an increasingly tough issue in New Orleans. It is not news that the city’s housing market does not have enough quality, affordable housing units for its residents. Historically, rent has increased while wages have remained stagnant. The recommended portion of income to be spent on rent is 30% or less but about a third of New Orleans renters spend 50% or more of their income on housing costs. The issue has only gotten worse as people lost out on work and business during the pandemic and fell behind on rent.

On June 10th, 2021, Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill into law that formally recognized Junetheenth as a state holiday in Louisiana. It passed unanimously in the House and Senate, which speaks volumes about the understanding of Juneteenth’s importance in history. However, the work does not end here. Much more should be done to take steps to dismantle the systemic racism in Louisiana as well as the rest of America. LifeCity would like to highlight two valuable organizations that work to do as such:

Reducing food waste and donating food is an important part of our community's well being. Emergency food assistance is of utmost importance in the state of Louisiana when one considers high unemployment rates and low-wage jobs that may make accessible food difficult. In fact, 1 in 5 households in Louisiana are at risk of hunger. We compiled two options for food donations and leftover food to help you give back to New Orleans!

Schmellys is making plans to scale our compost collection operations back up to pre-COVID levels. We will be on-boarding new clients in mid August. Interested businesses can fill out an inquiry form here.