Bring free, delicious red beans to Lafayette

Hey, buddies! My name is Joey Thibodeaux, and I lead a mutual aid food service project in Lafayette, LA called As Cool As Beans. Every Monday I cook a big pot of my favorite local dish, red beans and rice. Once it's done some friends and I go deliver it across town to people for free. (Drivers use their own gas).

This fundraiser’s goal will fund us for a little over six months.

I started this project in March 2021. It started small; it was just me delivery to friends, mostly. After a month or so of red bean Monday's, word got around a little bit. In the four years that followed, with the help of some like-minded friends, we've quadrupled the amount I started out cooking and serving.

This was always meant to be an independent project that I kept going as long as I could afford it. I've done two or three fundraisers since starting, but I always go back to spending out of pocket. Recently, my funds have thinned out a little, and As Cool As Beans has been feeling tough to swing on my own.

Every week we feed 25-35 people in Lafayette. The whole thing costs about $75 a week. I'll put some numbers below for transparency. Anything you can spare is helpful and appreciated. Even 2 bucks fills a belly.

This is a project that serves anyone. No questions asked, no qualifying, no paperwork. I think people deserve food just because they're human. I want to see a world where more things work that way, and I'm starting here.

Rough cost breakdown - 4lb smoked sausage $20, 6lb dry red beans $15, trinity & garlic $10, quart of stock $3, oil & dry seasoning $5, and 30 pint containers with lids $20.

If you're interested in starting a similar project and want help talking it out, I'm so excited to lend any insights or knowledge that I can. It's a goal of mine to see someone copy what I'm doing wherever they are. I copied it from a project in Austin called Red Beans and Ricely, Yours. If I can do it, anyone can.

As I said, the goal is to get enough for six months worth of red beans, but the project will continue on beyond that. Anything over that is just more meals.