Article

Dorian relief efforts enlist food organizations

While the U.S. largely escaped Hurricane Dorian's wrath, areas along the North Carolina coast remain flooded and in need of relief. Food organizations are doing their best to help victims.

Image courtesy of iStock

September 9, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Most of the East Coast was spared the destruction that Hurricane Dorian delivered to the Bahamas last week, but parts of North Carolina have flooded and are in need of relief. The fact that much of the affected area along the coast consists of islands has complicated relief efforts.

The greatest damage was felt on Ocracoke Island on the North Carolina Outer Banks, where relief efforts are under way, according to the Associated Press. As of early this morning, there was still no power on the Outer Banks, which experienced the worst damage the area has ever seen, according to residents.

Food relief under way

The North Carolina Baptist Men were cooking food in cooperation with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, Jack Frazier, the organization's state director for relief disaster, told Food Truck Operator.

He said the Salvation Army and Red Cross have their own vehicles to deliver food, but his organization also has vehicles to help if needed.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina Baptist Men organized a mass feeding at Cape Hatteras Baptist Church to serve the Hatteras and Ocracoke areas.

Frazier said independent food trucks would not be permitted access to the affected areas until the restrictions were lifted. "The problem is independent food trucks can't get into where the disasters are," Frazier said.

Hyde County, North Carolina, remained under a mandatory evacuation orderas of Sunday, and no one but emergency responders and authorized personnel including supply crews were being allowed on ferries, according to the Associated Press. The county warned that private boats would be turned away if they attempted to enter the island.

"It's kind of a mess," Laurin Walker, who manages a food truck event, the Outer Banks Food Truck Showdown in Nags Head, North Carolina, told Food Truck Operator. "It's really bad." The event was scheduled for Sunday and has not been rescheduled, Walker said.

As of today, residents were still not allowed to return to Hatteras Island, Walker said, although the restrictions have been lifted on some of the other islands.

The Food Bank of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina is deploying trucks carrying food, grocery items and water throughout northeastern North Carolina, the organization announced in a press release. The organization is working with the Office of Emergency Management.

"We are deploying trucks to fringe coastal areas of Dorian's and are waiting for clearance to enter the highly affected zones," Liz Reasoner, the food bank's executive director, said in the release. "Food Bank of the Albemarle is assessing damage to our partner agencies who distribute food directly to victims to fully institute our disaster outreach plan to ensure those affected by the storm have food and water."

Food truck owners in other parts of North Carolina contacted by Food Truck Operator closed for a day or two last week.

"What you see on the news is pretty much overblown," Oscar Hines, who operates Dashi, a Charleston, South Carolina food truck and restaurant that serves Asian and Latin fare, told Food Truck Operator. Hines closed his restaurant and food truck for one day.

The 13th Taco Food Tuck in Raleigh, North Carolina, closed for two days, said owner Marilyn Parva.

Relief efforts focus on the Bahamas

Operation BBQ Relief, a nationwide volunteer organization based in Shawnee, Kansas, that provides hot meals to first responders and victims, was focusing its relief efforts on the Bahamas, spokesperson David Marks told Food Truck Operator. He said airplanes were sending food and supplies to Grand Island.

The Fried Chicken Kitchen food truck in St. Augustine, Florida, provided meals to first responders in northeast Florida over the weekend and collected supplies for Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas, according to a WJXT-TV report. Owners Spencer and Christina Upchurch collected supplies in the parking lot of St. Augustine Court Reporters and provided free chicken to persons donating supplies. 

The hurricane peeled away from the coast after hitting North Carolina and moved up the eastern seaboard, according to the Associated Press. By Sunday, Dorian downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, and hit eastern Canada, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.