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all the shopping it needed to feed the men and women responsible for the city’s cultural identity, and to do so in a way that would be respectful and grassroots, coming from the community itself. “Grocery shopping is great because it is sustainable. You can scale up or down depending on donations,” Devin explains. Presently, the program is able to feed about nine people per day. To maximize the time available, volunteers have mapped the inside of Rouses and know the most efficient routes to get every item on grocery lists. Already, the program is helping around 75 culture bearers. There’s something in it for the donating public, too. You go to a Mardi Gras parade, and you might get a picture of — or if you’re lucky, a picture with — a Mardi Gras Indian. But there’s never before been a way to give back. Feed the Second Line is that way, and people can sign up at feedthesecondline.org to donate monthly. The average monthly donation is $22. “The only way this program is possible is if people become monthly donors,” says Devin. “It doesn’t matter how much. A dollar or five or 10 or 100. Anything. It’s a way of saying, ‘ Thank you for being you. Your creation of culture has enriched all our lives. ’”

With the public’s backing, Devin plans to help as many Mardi Gras Indians, Social Aid and Pleasure Club members, artists and musicians in the city as possible. His record of achievement and devotion to New Orleans says that if anyone can do it, he can. Which isn’t bad for someone whose whole destiny was determined over red beans and rice. “Over the course of all this,” he says, “I met my wife when she joined the krewe, and that’s why I have all this, have my children. That moment sitting in Pal’s Lounge and deciding to make a bean suit was the most important moment in my life.” Clockwise from left: Feed the Second Line’s motto, Love Your City (beadwork by Duane Cruse of the Wild Magnolias); Mr. Victor Harris, Big Chief of the FiYiYi Spirit of the Mandingo Warriors; Cagney Goodly filming an FTSL promotional piece in Rouses Markets; Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Grand Marshal for the Krewe of Red Beans (photos by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee)

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