feed the people

Behind the Series

Lede New Orleans works with emerging BIPOC and LGBTQ+ storytellers in our city to tell the stories of communities that go overlooked by local media, ensuring that our city’s narrative reflects the information needs and lived experiences of the people who live here. We believe storytelling and journalism should support communities and help them thrive, not undermine them.

For this project, Lede New Orleans trained and paid five Community Reporting Fellows to learn multimedia storytelling skills over a 14-week fellowship and document the stories of people working to build food access in our city. These fellows will continue use their skills to tell stories about their neighbors and help their communities access information.

To pick stories for this series, Lede New Orleans conducted surveys and held one-on-one interviews with community members to better understand the day-to-day information needs and challenges locals are facing. The Covid-19 pandemic and related job loss meant that thousands more families in and around New Orleans faced food insecurity. Food access continues to be a challenge for many amid pandemic recovery.

Lede New Orleans is transforming how local stories are told by broadening who gets to do this work. Join us in ensuring all New Orleanians can take part in the local narrative by supporting our work today.