CrescentCity.com

07/20/2020

Free Testing with/without symptoms is available!

Per ready.nola.gov/testing, there are many places you can get free testing for COVID-19 with or without symptoms. Two of our community advertisers offer testing: CrescentCare and Access Health Louisiana. Please stay safe and continue to mask up!

07/20/2020

Week of July 20 Update
Hello Everyone,

It saddens us to report that one of our part-time, back of house volunteers has tested positive for COVID-19. Our hearts are heavy and we are doing all that we can to support them during this time.

As those of you who have picked up meals at our site or received delivery have seen first hand, we follow all Servsafe and CDC sanitation protocols with the utmost seriousness, require PPE to be worn at all times and have structured our program to be as contactless as possible. Out of an abundance of caution, we have ceased operations for 14 days in order for our team to quarantine per CDC guidelines and ensure time not only for immediate testing of all volunteers exposed but additional follow up testing before reinstituting the program.

In the meantime, we have shifted our meal supply to fellow food security program Culture Aid NOLA for distribution to guarantee that none of our members face food insecurity while we are furloughed. Culture Aid NOLA is currently operating two PICKUP ONLY distribution days in the Downtown New Orleans area. All are welcome to pick up from their locations and no documentation is needed.

WEDNESDAY: 6 PM – 8 PM at OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA CATHOLIC CHURCH (1835 St. Roch Ave. New Orleans, LA 70117)

SATURDAY: 10 AM – NOON at MAHALIA JACKSON THEATRE – LOCATED WITHIN ARMSTRONG PARK (1419 Basin St. New Orleans, LA 70116)

If you are in need of meal delivery, please call 311 or 504-658-2299 or online at http://nola311.org/MealAssist to sign up for the meal program provided by the City of New Orleans.

If you are in need of additional resources, please refer to www.nolaready.gov.

We thank you for your support and understanding while we navigate these challenging times. Our first priority is to protect the health and safety of all of our volunteers and members alike. We look forward to coming back stronger and continuing to provide meals to the community we love.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Sarah at [email protected].

In Solidarity,

Sarah Manowitz, Reed Wendorf, and the entire team at the CrescentCity.com Meal Assistance Program

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07/13/2020

We would like to congratulate and wish well our rockstar volunteer GiGi. Many of you know her as the hostess with the mostest who has served as the principal greeter and “front of house” manager. She will be moving forward in her athletic coaching career as well as other philanthropic pursuits. We are deeply grateful for all of her hard work, dedication, and never-ending positivity and support her in her new journey. Gigi is much loved at the meal assistance program and will be sorely missed.

Facebook: George Melichar
Instagram & Twitter:

06/22/2020

Week of June 22 Update
Hello Everyone,
We hope that you are safe and well. Thank you again for bearing with us as our program continues to evolve. As you're aware, the CrescentCity.com Meal Assistance Program is an effort led and run entirely by volunteers from the New Orleans LBGTQ, service industry, and gig economy communities. With the partial reopening of bars, restaurants, and casinos, many of our team have been called back to work.

That said, our team's commitment to ensuring the food security of our fellow New Orleanians has not changed.

New Location

We will now be operating out of our new space at The Commissary located at 634 Orange Street in the Lower Garden District. We’re extremely thankful to the Dickie Brennan & Co. Family of Restaurants for stepping up to provide our new space.

This Week

We're offering meal distribution services on Monday, June 22, 2020, and Wednesday, June 24, 2020, for PICKUP ONLY between 10 AM and 4 PM.

Delivery services will be made for emergencies only this week. (Please contact Sarah if you are experiencing a food emergency and are unable to pick up meals.

Phone Banking

We will be phone banking all of our delivery members starting tomorrow to assess eligibility for delivery. Due to our limited staff of volunteers, we will only be able to offer delivery services once a week to those members who are homebound.

July Weekly French Quarter Popup

We will also be popping up in the French Quarter again one day per week in July. We will release the details of those walk-up times as soon as they have been solidified.

Volunteering

We need your help! If you are able to help us deliver, please visit our website: https://www.crescentcity.com/get-meal-assistance/volunteer/

Additional Programs

If our program is no longer a good fit for you, but you still need assistance, please review additional programs available and listed here on the Ready Nola website: https://ready.nola.gov/incident/coronavirus/assistance/

Thank you for your patience and understanding. It is truly our honor and privilege to serve the community that we love. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via email, or by phone by contacting Sarah at 504-609-9378.

In Solidarity,
Sarah Manowitz, Reed Wendorf, and the AMAZING CrescentCity.com Meal Assistance Program Team

Volunteer Volunteer Name* First Last Email* Phone*Days Available* Select All Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Volunteer for* Assembling/Distributing Meal Packages at 700 Burgundy Street (Mon-Sat) Deliver Meals (Mon & Thurs) Other General Comments / Other Areas You Can Assist

06/19/2020

Program Update: We're in the process of relocating our operations to a new location and will provide an update with next week's schedule to participants as soon as possible. Please check your email Sunday evening for an update.

06/15/2020

Week of June 15 Update

Hello Everyone,

We’re writing to share updates regarding the CrescentCity.com Meal Assistance Program. As New Orleans moves into Phase Two of reopening, the majority of our team has been returning to work. Everyone associated with the program is a volunteer. Please join us in thanking them for dedicating so much of their time and resources over the past ten weeks to make this possible.

Additionally, please join us in thanking Oz New Orleans for hosting us for the past four weeks and Betty's Bar & Bistro for the first six weeks. These businesses not only lent us their spaces but covered the overhead to use them. Betty’s Bar & Bistro already reopened during Phase One and now Oz New Orleans will reopen this Thursday. If you get the chance, please support these businesses as they reopen.

This Week

During these difficult times, we want to be as transparent as possible. With our operations in flux, we will only be able to provide meal pickup and deliveries today, Monday, June 15, 2020, and tomorrow, Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

Meal Pickup will be from 1 – 4 PM at Oz New Orleans (800 Bourbon Street).

Meal Delivery will be from 12 – 4 PM. With limited volunteer delivery drivers, some deliveries will be made today and some tomorrow. Please check your texts for updates.

What’s Next?

We will provide an additional update on the status of our program going forward toward the end of this week. Please plan accordingly as there are additional programs available and listed here on the Ready Nola website: https://ready.nola.gov/incident/coronavirus/assistance/

Thank you for your understanding.

In Solidarity,
Sarah Manowitz, Reed Wendorf & the Crescentcity.com Team

06/10/2020

Due to the unexpected rain and flooding, we’re forced to cancel today’s meal pickup. Please stay safe!

(Message us if you’re experiencing a food emergency.)

05/29/2020

is Tuesday.

While we ourselves are not a registered 501(c)(3) organization, please consider supporting some of the nonprofits that make our efforts possible, including SBP, The Barman's Fund, World Central Kitchen, CrescentCare, and NOLA Tree Project.

Learn more at https://www.givenola.org/

GiveNOLA Day, an initiative of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is a one-day online giving event. For 24 hours, everyone who loves our region can support their favorite local causes by donating to one or more of 700+ participating nonprofit organizations.

05/27/2020

CrescentCity.com Volunteer Spotlight: George Melichar
Geo is a hardworking member of the hospitality industry in New Orleans. As a volunteer at CrescentCity.com’s Food Assistance Program, Geo most enjoys getting to know fellow community members across the city including neighbors (and their pets!) while also getting the chance to build life-long friendships with the volunteer comrades. When this crisis is behind us, Geo most looks forward to going out to a cafe for a coffee and smelling the spice in the air while enjoying a forenoon French Quarter walk.

05/20/2020

We are looking for more volunteer delivery drivers for tomorrow and Monday deliveries. Please respond to this post if you are available!

05/17/2020

CrescentCity.com Volunteer Spotlight: Lily Blu

Lily is part of the security team at Oz New Orleans. What she has loved most about volunteering with CrescentCity.com’s Food Assistance Program is being able to help her community and the opportunity it has given her to meet people that she otherwise would not have crossed paths with. When this crisis is behind us, Lily is most looking forward to getting back to work and continuing to serve the communities in any ways that she can while being able to take her “smol hoomans,” aka her sons, out for a long overdue “mama-son date.”

05/16/2020

CrescentCity.com Volunteer Spotlight: Philip Anthony

Philip is a bartender by day and an emcee at The Corner Pocket by night where he hosts the longest-running male strip contest in the country. Some key highlights from his experiences volunteering with CrescentCity.com’s Food Assistance Program include the many positive interactions with other volunteers and hearing the simple phrase, “Thank you,” from so many of those being helped by the program. When this crisis is behind us, Phil cannot wait to sit at a bar where he can enjoy a cocktail while socializing once again.

05/15/2020

CrescentCity.com Volunteer Spotlight: Pat Manning

Pat is a server at RedFish Grille, where she is eager to return someday soon. She has found her volunteering at CrescentCity.com’s Food Assistance Program to be eye-opening, gratifying and fabulous for many reasons, especially when it comes to the wonderful people she’s met that have been right here in New Orleans all along. When this crisis is behind us, Pat is excited to travel again and also to sit at her bar.

05/14/2020

CrescentCity.com Volunteer Spotlight: Ashley Dix

As the Casino Marketing Manager at Harrah's New Orleans, Ashley has loved the opportunity with CrescentCity.com’s Food Assistance Program because it has helped her give back and support the LGBTQ and service industry community here in the city. When this crisis is behind us, Ashley is most excited to patronize all of the service industry and LGBTQ recipients of the program’s benefits when their businesses reopen. She will be dining out, shopping, and enjoying cocktails as often as she can.

05/13/2020

CrescentCity.com Volunteer Spotlight: Theresa Addams

Theresa is both an entertainer and a food server here in New Orleans. She finds great importance in helping people in need at this time through CrescentCity.com’s Food Assistance Program, identifying it as an important way for her to pay kindness forward. When this crisis is behind us, Theresa most looks forward to getting back to serving and connecting with people she hasn’t seen in months, not to mention hitting the stage and experiencing the creative numbers and costumes her fellow entertainers will bring to stages across New Orleans.