ASHEVILLE – More than a week after Tropical Storm Helene caused mass destruction in Western North Carolina, local philanthropists are pivoting to address the latest needs of the community.
Unemployed hospitality workers serve in different capacities to ensure hot meals and assuage hunger. Restaurants have converted dining rooms into supply distribution centers. Locals, including those with a knack for culinary arts, prepare and deliver plates and resources to residents’ doors.
“I love this community,” said Chris Hornbeck, a volunteer cook for Grassroots Aid Partnership’s disaster relief food truck. “It’s such a lovely place to be and the people here give what they have and whatever they can. That’s so beautiful to see.”
Service industry workers volunteering
Rebecca Jones was laid off from her job at Old Europe Pastries as the café closed due to the citywide water outages that are predicted to last several months after the Sept. 27 storm.
Yet, on Oct. 9, Jones served free hot meals and coffee to strangers from the downtown bakery’s front window.
“We’re working as volunteers right now,” Jones said. “We have a pretty stocked staff here every day to help out.”
She said since Sept. 28, and now from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. daily, Old Europe has provided free hot meals like grilled cheese and quiche. Packaged and dry foods and ingredients like eggs, beef sticks, ramen, and baby food are available, and the restaurant has accepted donations and distributed supplies like toilet tissue and dog food.
“It’s kind of whatever we have,” Jones said.
Jones said the bakery boils sourced potable water and hasn’t had issues accessing food. Ingredients were ordered from national food supplier, Sysco, purchased during supply runs to Charlotte, and donated by community members.
Jones, a West Asheville resident, said after the storm she was worried about not having food at home but was relieved when she saw free food made and handed out at a neighborhood bar, The Odd.
Jones said the service industry came together to provide for the community, and the more she ventured out the more she saw people helping.
For more, visit oldeuropepastries.com and follow @oldeuropeasheville on Instagram.
The union of professional and volunteer culinary artists
For four days, Chris Hornbeck, a software technical writer and Leicester resident, had put his skills and hobby for cooking into action on the food truck operated by the Black Mountain-based nonprofit, Grassroots Aid Partnership.
Hornbeck said other volunteers have included massage therapists and social work professionals.
“I’ve been trying to find kitchens to cook in because a lot of us like to cook and we’ve got a lot of professional chefs here so we’re trying to find some way to use our skills,” Hornbeck said.
On Oct. 9, the food truck was stationed in a parking lot at Haywood Road and Balsam Avenue, across from Asheville Fire Station 6 in West Asheville.
Grassroots members and volunteers cook on-site, serving dishes like tuna sandwiches and chicken fried rice using ingredients from the Asheville area’s agriculture community.
Next to the food truck, to-go containers were readied for transport and delivery to underserved communities and other residents with limited or no access to food, like senior citizens’ homes.
The distribution menu of the day featured pasta with bison red sauce, cauliflower and potatoes and a stew made with chicken, beans and potatoes and served with tortillas.
Aslan Cray, co-founder of Grassroots, said the organization is a collective of groups formed to provide relief aid to communities nationwide, including areas affected by previous hurricanes, beginning with Hurricane Katrina and including Rita, Michael, Gustav, Florence and Harvey.
“Luckily, we were stationed here because a lot of times we go down South, like Louisiana, Florida or the Gulf Coast and Asheville’s supposed to be a safe place from flooding,” Cray said. “Fortunately, the warehouse didn’t flood so we were able to get boots on the ground.”
Amanda Krause, co-founder, said the organization is seeking additional volunteers, and the needs are assessed daily.
“In Asheville, we have a lot of multitalented people,” she said. “We always want to work with artists and musicians ― people who are currently out of work and need to get involved in something.”
Krause said the organization supports the local economy by purchasing produce from local farms.
On Oct. 1, Krause said organization leaders transported a generator on a bus to provide electricity to Mother Earth Foods, a local market that sources from a network of local farms, preventing refrigerated and frozen food from going bad, which was then delivered to low-income residents.
Cray said that one of the next tasks is to figure out how to get potable and non-potable water from uncompromised creeks and streams to low-income neighbors.
He said nearly 1,000 meals were distributed since operations began, and organizations plan to increase meal delivery to assisted living facilities and community centers.
‘For more, visit grassrootsaidpartnership.org and follow @grassrootsaidpartnership on Instagram.
Café-turned-supply delivery service
After Tropical Storm Helene passed Sept. 27, the business partners at Flour, a downtown café, began dispensing coffee to the public later that evening.
Carter James said the small staff ― himself, his brother, Kyle James and Chef Gordon Gibbs ― have continued to feed and provide for community members from downtown to impacted areas outside the central business district.
He said in the week following the storm, Flour had about a week’s worth of food in stock that was cooked and distributed to those who lined up outside of the Patton Avenue café, inside S&W Market. He said in the first days many were displaced hotel tourists displaced with limited access to food and resources, and downtown residents.
James said after Flour exhausted its initial fresh food, canned and donated goods inventory, the partners are preparing meals on a smaller scale with a different purpose.
“Downtown, with power coming back and water sources coming down here, we noticed the focus is more on the outside regions,” James said. “We’re still cooking the food that we get in but not as much food as we were getting before. Now, when we’re cooking, we’re taking it out to first responders.”
James said they’re assessing what’s needed to reopen to meet Buncombe County Health and Human Service Department’s newly instated protocol for food and beverage establishments opening amid the water outage, stating they’re in no rush to reopen Flour and will continue serving the community.
Last week, Flour began accepting food and supplies, including chainsaws and generators and has worked with volunteer drivers to deliver them to communities. James said there’s a growing need for personal protective equipment gear like hazmat suits and N95 masks for the storm clean-up stage.
For more, visit swmarketavl.com and follow @flouravl on Instagram.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and covered the arts, entertainment and hospitality in Louisiana for several years. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Service industry mobilizes in Asheville to help others after Helene
