Public Health

In 2023, the New Orleans Health Department (NOHD) received $1M in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to improve household food security and improve access to nutritious foods for New Orleans residents who were negatively impacted economically by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) the NOHD sought community-based organizations to deliver programs and services that would achieve Food Security program goals, prioritizing organizations with an established history of providing food assistance, improving household food security, and increasing healthy food access.  

The NOHD received seven applications for projects and programs such as Food Distribution & SNAP Application Assistance, Food Assistance Program Match, Food Hub Development, Household Food Sustainability & Produce Prescription. The total funds requested was $2,721,488. To ensure maximum impact, applicants were asked to provide alternative budget scenarios if their program or project could not be provided with the full amount request. The programs and projects were selected for their clear focus on direct household assistance and direct aid expenses, maximizing impact to the New Orleans residents who are the most affected by food insecurity. 

Project Timeline 

The NOFA was announced on July 3, 2023, and had an application window of approximately 30 days. Selection Committee was developed and concluded their objective reviews on August 25, 2023, announcing the selected applicants on August 30, 2023. Selected organizations worked with the City’s ARPA team and the NOHD to develop and route a detailed contract that holds the organization accountable for robust reporting and monitoring requirements. The contract approval process was completed for all organizations in January 2024. All programs are expected to have the total of their funds by December 2026. The programs are not only designed to run for the duration of ARPA funding, but also structured to maximize their positive impact well beyond the end of 2026. 

Selected Projects 

Top Box Foods has received $400K to fund their Food Prescription Program which supports the purchase of and direct delivery of medically tailored, healthy foods to medically and economically vulnerable New Orleans residents.  

Second Harvest Food Bank has received $100K to fund their Healthy Food Banking Program which supports the expansion of organization’s established food banking programming, distributing healthy food to Central City neighbourhoods, and providing nutrition education and SNAP outreach activities to improve health outcomes and reduce barriers to healthy food. 

Sankofa Community Development Corporation has received $250K to fund their Lower Ninth Ward Healthy Food Hub Project which supports the development of the Lower Ninth Ward Healthy Food Hub, a fresh produce retail store and teaching kitchen providing New Orleans residents with fresh produce vouchers and access to health screenings, nutrition classes and hands-on cooking workshops.  

Market Umbrella has received $250K to fund their New Orleans Market Match Expansion (NOMME) Project which supports the expansion of the Market Match program, an established SNAP incentive matching program, allowing for additional retail partners including at least one brick and mortar retailer, increasing access to fresh food, providing greater buying power to New Orleans residents. 

The city of New Orleans is using $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to reduce homelessness in New Orleans. 

The number of people experiencing homelessness in New Orleans dropped significantly since its peak in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Despite this improvement, the lack of affordable rental housing combined with the economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the unhoused population. According to the 2023 Point-in-Time Count conducted by UNITY of Greater New Orleans, 553 people were sleeping on the street or in a location not intended for human habitation. That represented nearly a 50% increase from 2022. Overall, approximately 1200 individuals are unstably housed in the city of New Orleans. 

Recognizing that homelessness is an epidemic across the country, the federal government chose to allow municipalities to use their ARPA funds to address this crisis.   

Ending homelessness requires a collaborative effort across public and private partners. To that end the City of New Orleans is engaging with local homeless service providers, the New Orleans business community, health care system, and nationally recognized consultants to better coordinate a response to unsheltered homelessness. 

In addition to these projects the City of New Orleans is also using ARPA funding to support outreach and case management ($1M) as well as the Low Barrier Shelter($1M).  

Individual Projects 

Rapid Rehousing - $2.5M. Working with Unity of Greater New Orleans to close homeless encampments one by one and rehouse the individuals to subsidized housing offered by local landlords participating in the city's program. 

Shelter Support - $1.1M. Through a Notice of Funding Availability, the City of New Orleans is supporting the development and implementation of programs that assist in sheltering homeless New Orleans residents.  

Strategic Planning - $739K. The City of New Orleans has engaged a national consulting firm to engage policy makers, key stakeholders, and community members to (1) establish and oversee a short-term plan to successfully house the residents who occupy encampments in downtown New Orleans, and (2) develop a long-term plan to substantially reduce homelessness in the city of New Orleans. 

Project Administration - $761K. The remaining funds will be used in various ways to support unhoused populations, engage in outreach and case management, and administer the various projects.