Hallie Q. Brown is the desired place for families to enhance their quality of life through holistic lifespan support services, community gathering, and legacy cultivation.
The essence of Hallie Q. Brown extends far beyond a physical space.
As an institution, we serve as a safe place to establish RONDO roots; but our true legacy matures through a deep network of local leaders and unsung heroes who have helped transform our community.
You may use the term "Elder" or "aging adult" to describe seniors, but to us they’re most certaily Legends.
We honor their selfless service and soulful sacrifices by standing on the foundation they have built for us as we immortalize our collective story.
We are the headquarters of our community, and we are reimagining our future, today!
Little minds possess the biggest imagination, and for over a century we have, and continue to holistically invest in youth development as one of our anchor initiatives.
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FOOD SHELF DETAILS
We broke down the total lbs. Collected (320,000 lbs) and what it would equate to in average grocery bags (avg grocery bag is 25 lbs, which equates to roughly 12,800 bags of groceries).
This helped us see how many people on average could eat off of our distribution (5 people per bag). We ran conservative estimates on the value of the average bag of groceries ($125 is on the low end between Aldi, Cub, Target, Walmart, Trader Joes, Kowalskis, and Whole Foods) and that calculation informed us of the investment we make in the community towards food access.
POUND OF CLOTHES DONATED
NEIGHBORHOOD FAMILIES SERVED
IN-PERSON VISITORS HOSTED
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1) ALL familes are welcome.
2) Complete ONLINE food request form.
3) Appointments are scheduled between 1:30 to 4:30pm.
4) HQB will respond to requests within 24-48 hours
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Hallie Q. Brown Community Center operates a “Neighbor Choice”, and not an emergency food shelf model. This means that the food we have is planned for our neighbors who have been awaiting their appointment time.
We want to continue to give you the best possible food and grocery that can be eaten within YOUR own diet, culture, and restrictions, while striving to be Zero Waste in our approach and accessible to all of the demands of our community. This means that the best experience for us all is to set up an appointment to give us time to prepare your grocery pick up.
We are not able to allow community members to shop for themselves in our food shelf; however, we will provide a personal shopper to shop for you based upon your requests.
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NEW COURT REVEAL
In 1929, Hallie Q. Brown was the first rec center in Rondo. In 2025, we were gifted a $150,000 gym renovation by the MN Lynx + Timberwolves & US Bank in partnership with St. Paul’s Parks & Rec Dept. 300 people celebrated the investment & 70 youth joined the rec, the very next day! HQB also honored key community leaders who represent our spirit in sports & beyond- We held a panel & multigenerational reception to educate the community on our historical significance in sports & to learn where it all started, HQB!!!
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MOVEMENT MOMENTS
We did not have a gala in 2025 – we participated in a movement! We shared our clarified vision to 275 of our neighbors & were met with excitement & anticipation. We are still here to extend Rondo’s legacy. We are still here to unapologetically be a space that celebrates black life & culture. We are still here to be the lover of humanity that we have always been, & we are still here to be the centralized gathering space for the community. We have been looking backwards to go forward with wisdom. Sankofa. That’s why we are #StillHallie.
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MLK Elder's Brunch
We honor the selfless service and soulful sacrifices of our Elders by standing by taking a moment during MLK Day weekend to serve and show gratitude those who have lived out the values of the civil rights movement in our community. We host a brunch and social, share stories, and take pictures to always be able to live in the moments we create, together. Our community becomes immortal when we remember and share our collective stories.
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HALLIE Q. BROWN DAY 2025
We launched HQB Day in 2025 as a friend-raiser, open house, and event that remembers our foundation and celebrates the first day that we put on a program on April 1, 1929. It was the first day the public got to experience Hallie Q. Brown House, a settlement house organization built to support the fast-growing predominantly African-American community of Rondo, the historic neighborhood in the heart of St. Paul, MN.
We would love to see you at one of our monthly in-house community events.
Our success is tied one another.
Hallie’s north star is longevity, increased quality of life, and for our community to become immortal through our collective storytelling and legacy cultivation.
We are seeking aligned partners that want to invest in holistic lifespan support and for the RONDO community.
We don't take our longevity for granted, in fact, we made it to where we are now through intentionality and purposeful partnership.
