Okra Abbey Giving Garden

Okra Abbey is a mutual aid hub and "third space" for spiritual recreation and re-creation - a sacred space where we grow food, herbal medicine, relationships and community connections. Okra Abbey supports mutual aid programs, skill-shares, distributions (clothing, food, toiletries, harm reduction supplies), and events, working to support the spiritual, emotional and material needs of our community members in Pigeon Town.  

Our weekly programs include Grace & Greens and Peas & Love

Grace & Greens is a free community meal held every Wednesday at 12 pm at Okra Abbey, serving 40-70 people in the Pigeon Town community. Grace & Greens is an opportunity for all our neighbors to gather together around a meal and grow deeper in relationship. We begin every meal with a welcome,a blessing, neighborhood announcements and a discussion prompt which sets the tone for the wide welcome we extend to one another during the meal and anytime we gather together at the Abbey. 

Peas & Love is an opportunity for us to connect with our elderly and/or disabled neighbors who are unable to visit the garden. Every Thursday we pack up fresh produce grown in the garden, and fresh harvests from City Park gardeners, to deliver bags of nutritious fresh food to our neighbors. This program allows us to nurture the inter-generational relationships that help keep communities strong, while working to address access barriers for disabled community members. 

Daily Offerings & Practices: 

1. "Coffee in the Commons" is our daily offering of free coffee and snacks for our community members, inviting our neighbors in to relax, connect, share concerns, dream together and imagine new worlds. 

2. Our "Little Free Radical Library" stays stocked with books, zines, pamphlets and more, focused on anti-racism and anti-oppression literature, practical resources, and more. 

3. Our "Blessing Box" serves as a 24/7 mutual aid distro site accessible from the sidewalk. We work to keep the Blessing Box stocked with toiletries, first aid supplies, harm reduction supplies (Narcan, Fentanyl test strips) and more! 

4. The "Community Message Board" on the corner of Eagle & Hickory Street serves as a hub for sharing updates about programming and events at Okra Abbey, and serves as a space for community members to post flyers, announcements and more. 

5. The "Community Altar" on Hickory Street serves as a public space for grief, reflection and remembering, creating a communal space for neighbors to honor community members who have transitioned, and to connect with land, spiritual and blood ancestors. 

6. Our "Community Recycling & Composting Hub" located at the corner of Eagle & Hickory Street serves as an accessible location for neighbors to drop off kitchen scraps and yard waste to add to our composting system, as well as to collect aluminum cans for the NOLA Cans 4 Food program. We are also in the process of becoming a glass recycling drop-off with Glass Half Full.