Some things are bigger than football. Even during Hate Week.
As we look toward to the Falcons’ next game, Monday Night Football against the Saints in Week 4, I want to raise awareness of a wonderful organization supporting the unhoused community in New Orleans: #TailgateTogether.
Allen Keller, one of the Saints fans at the center of this organization, explained to Canal Street Chronicles back in 2022 how this initiative began.
“It started from Saints tailgates,” Keller said. “We’d have a ton of food
left over, so we’d bring that out to the homeless. But the thought of giving the homeless our leftovers didn’t feel right to me. So we started cooking the homeless their own separate, fresh meal.”
Keller, along with fellow Saints fan Katherine Seals and others, have put their time, energy, money, and care into #TailgateTogether, and have turned this into a year-round enterprise providing fundamentally important support and resources to vulnerable people in New Orleans. And they couldn’t do it without the support of volunteers and donors.
“There have been hundreds of volunteers over the years. Many volunteer as their schedule allows, and I genuinely consider everyone who has ever volunteered as a part of #TailgateTogether. Because it truly takes all of us,” Keller told SB Nation.
The Office of Homeless Services and Strategy budget in New Orleans was cut from $3.6 million dollars to just $700,000 annually in 2025, and the 2025 Super Bowl in Caesars Superdome brought with it legislation persecuting people for sleeping in public and sweeps of encampments that displaced people who already didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Unity of Greater New Orleans reports that there are over 1,500 unhoused people in New Orleans who urgently need help and resources. About 72% of these people do have temporary shelter, but there aren’t enough beds or resources for everyone. It’s complicated by the fact that people from all over Louisiana who don’t have stable housing come to New Orleans, assuming that a larger metro area will have more resources.
“We see a lot of individuals who are dropped off here from hospitals and rehab centers from all across the state every single day, because there is a lack of resources in other smaller communities,” Sarah Parks, the executive director of Grace at the Greenlight, said to New Orleans’ WDSU back in June 2026. “So we literally are taking care of our state’s homeless population here in New Orleans.”
And while Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city 20 years ago, housing shortages, gentrification, and unaffordable housing stemming from the recovery efforts have exacerbated the issue, making it even harder for people who need housing.
#TailgateTogether can’t solve all of these societal problems. But they can, and do, give the unhoused community good meals, resources for their comfort, safety and hygiene, and a few hours of fellowship each week all year long with a group of folks who treat them like people worthy of kindness, respect and friendship — because they are.
I’m heading to New Orleans on Saturday, and will be volunteering with #TailgateTogether on Sunday morning before I cover Monday Night Football (the Superdome has restrictions around weekday tailgates, and the group likes to make sure the community has a consistent day and time to rely on). If you’re coming to New Orleans for the game and want to join us, let me know and I’ll share the details when I have them!
And if you’d like to support the work of #TailgateTogether, you can donate money directly to Allen. I have donated as much as I’m able over the years, and can personally vouch for the fact that your money will go directly toward serving people who need our help. You can also purchase items off #TailgateTogether’s Amazon wish list to help support people in need every day, not just Sundays.
I root for the Saints’ downfall on the field every single week, and Monday will be no different. But #TailgateTogether is bigger than football, and it’s an honor to get to serve alongside these good folks on Saturday. I hope you’ll join me, whether that’s donating your time, money, or simply spreading the word about #TailgateTogether to help raise awareness of the important work they’re doing to care for their community.
