Vermonters support neighbors after catastrophic floods
In early July, severe storms began rolling through the northeastern US. Torrential downpours dumped two months’ worth of rain onto the region in a matter of days. In Vermont, multiple cities and towns—including the state capital, Montpelier—were submerged. The rain caused catastrophic flooding, forced evacuations, destroyed infrastructure, and damaged thousands of homes and businesses. Once flood waters receded, debris and a thick layer of mud covered streets and homes.
First hours of the response
WCK’s Relief Team was on the ground as soon as it was safe to do so, arriving with sandwiches and water to offer immediate support while identifying areas of need. As residents began the exhausting work of cleaning out their destroyed homes and sorting through waterlogged belongings, WCK’s partners were firing up grills, smokers, and pizza ovens to make sure hot meals were at the ready. Open Hearth Pizza was one of the first to arrive, with a wood-fired oven in tow. “They jumped right in and couldn’t wait to help,” said Monica with WCK’s Community Outreach team. They set up on a street in Montpelier where local residents could grab a few slices of pizza and a side salad while taking a break from cleanup.
The damage left behind
Even after flood waters receded, residents didn’t have electricity or access to safe water for days. Our team met Eric, who lives in a basement apartment in Cambridge. His entire space was submerged during the flooding and was left in ruin—the fridge and couch overturned, water damaged all his belongings. He told our team it was the loss of sentimental objects from his daughter and father that bothered him the most. “Those are irreplaceable,“ he said. WCK volunteers delivered meals to Eric and his friends and family helping him salvage what they could.
Unfortunately, scenes like this were common in many heavily impacted communities. “The village is very sad to drive through and to see the devastation,” said Danielle, a resident of Jeffersonville. “Lots of people throwing away a lot of their belongings.” She was one of the many people who told our teams that they have been longtime followers and supporters of WCK. People expressed a range of emotions—both disbelief and sadness that they were in such a crisis, yet also gratitude to see and be supported by WCK.
Another WCK team member was approached by a local business owner who stepped away from cleaning up her destroyed storefront to say, “Thank you so much for being here…it raises morale so much just to see that you’re here.”
The superpowers of local residents
Adaptability is a key value of WCK’s work and volunteer Dave, a native Vermonter, embodies it completely. While urban areas like Montpelier and Barre were hit hard, so too were more isolated, rural communities. People living in these areas were unable to travel to centralized distribution sites, so Dave brought the meals to them. He delivered meals door-to-door to people stuck at home trying to clean out their houses—many without electricity or running water.
We are Vermonters helping Vermonters via WCK.
James
WCK Community Outreach lead in Vermont
Monica is part of WCK’s Community Outreach team and was born and raised in rural Vermont, so close to where flooding hit that both her high school and college were used as emergency shelters. Her knowledge of the local area helped us identify the pockets of greatest need and reach them quickly.
First responders from across the state of Vermont, and even as far as North Carolina, came to flooded areas to offer aid, and the Berlin Fire Department became their central base of operations. Nick, a local BBQ enthusiast, whipped up a huge batch of smoked maple pulled pork sandwiches, with sides of summer pasta salad and coleslaw. He drove almost 40 miles to deliver these meals to the fire department, alongside a great copilot—his son.
WCK works with local partners wherever we respond to a disaster. Locals understand one another on a deeper level and their expertise helps get the job done quicker and better. Beyond that, there is also something very uplifting about neighbors helping one another.
Throughout this response, WCK partnered with 20 different vendors—seven restaurants, seven food trucks, and six catering companies—to feed the people of Vermont. These chefs and their teams jumped into quick action, helping to provide delicious and nourishing meals to their fellow Vermonters. It was thanks to their hard work and effort that WCK was able to provide more than 9,000 meals to impacted communities.
Learn more about our #ChefsForVermont response here. For real-time updates, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can support our work by making a donation here.
