Updates from the field: Gulf coast hurricanes and wildfires in Oregon
Since August, WCK’s Relief Team has responded to wildfires burning up and down the West Coast of the US and two hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast within weeks of one another.
In the very early morning hours of August 27, Hurricane Laura hit the Gulf Coast of the United States as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph—one of the strongest to ever make landfall in the state of Louisiana. WCK’s Relief Team prepositioned in both Beaumont, Texas and Lafayette, Louisiana to respond from either side of the storm. After cooking from a kitchen in Beaumont for several days, our chefs moved to the Louisiana city of Lake Charles to serve the neighborhoods hit hardest by Laura.
WCK continued preparing meals for communities in Lake Charles and Cameron, a parish that sits right on the coast where Laura came ashore. Our Relief Team cooked and served hot, nourishing plates of food to local families, emergency crews working long hours, and workers cleaning up the damage from the storm. In total, we served 162,000 meals through this relief effort.
While our teams were still active in Louisiana, Hurricane Sally hit the coast of Alabama on September 16. The Category 2 storm was the first hurricane to make landfall in the state of Alabama since 2004. WCK’s Relief Team quickly relocated our Mobile Relief Kitchen to Mobile, Alabama to prepare meals.
Hurricane Sally brought up to thirty inches of rain in some areas causing severe flooding and leaving thousands without power on the Florida-Alabama border. As soon as the storm passed, our chefs fired up the grills while our logistics team surveyed the damage in cities from Pensacola, Florida to Mobile.
From the WCK’s Relief Kitchen, Chef Mollie and Chef Kyle got right to work cooking up hot, delicious meals for the National Guard, other first responders, and people impacted by the storm. A steaming plate of pasta bolognese with roasted veggies was welcome comfort for many families in the community who were dealing with flooding and no power in their homes.
Thankfully, many businesses have been able to reopen quickly. As residents continue to clean up their neighborhoods, our team is preparing and delivering meals around Baldwin County, the area that experienced the most damage from Sally. For days after the storm, the community of Foley, Alabama remained without power. When WCK’s Chef Tim arrived at the Jacks Trailer Court, many kids in the neighborhood came out to meet him and take dinner back to their families!
Additionally, WCK has been providing hot lunch and dinner to families lined up at the FEMA drive-through point of distribution (POD) near the state line in Lillian, AL. Families come to the POD to pick up water, ice, and other supplies. We sent many extra meals home with families for their elderly neighbors and others unable to leave their homes.
To date, WCK’s Relief Team has served more than 40,000 meals in response to Hurricane Sally, and we’re still cooking.
On the other side of the country, wildfires have devastated the west coast, from California to Washington. WCK’s Relief Team responded to fires in both northern and southern California this year, and now for the first time in our organization’s history, Oregon. Wildfires in the state have already burned over 1,000,000 acres of land. Establishing a kitchen in Portland, WCK mobilized our Chef Relief Team to feed firefighters and evacuees south of the city.
Washington, DC native and longtime WCK supporter Sepie moved to Portland three years ago. He jumped at the chance to step in and volunteer for our very first shift in the kitchen to prepare hot meals, sandwiches, salads, and fruit for delivery.
Another local resident, Judiaann, was glad to join our team to help her community. She shared with our team that she lived in New York City during the attacks of September 11, 2001, so she knew that when the fires hit Oregon she needed to get involved with the relief effort. “We need to be feeding and nurturing people right now. When you’re down, a good meal can really lift you up.”
WCK’s kitchen in Portland prepared comforting classics like Carolina BBQ pulled pork with roasted broccolini and carrots over cheesy mashed potatoes. Meals were distributed to families evacuated from their homes and first responders, including the Molalla Fire Department, which was fighting on the frontlines in one of the hardest hit areas of the state.
After preparing meals from the WCK kitchen for the immediate response, our team was able to move kitchen operations to a local restaurant, Primal Burger.
Chef Andrew told us, “As a person that grew up on a small farm and raised animals, this time more than any other in my life has shown me the reality of what hardship really is for our farmers, ranchers, and community members affected not only by a pandemic but by these unprecedented fire events. Having an organization like WCK to organize the effort of our volunteers and support those affected means the world to me. It hits home, and affords me the opportunity to give back to those that have fed our community, kept produce in my kitchen, and showed my guests exactly what food should be.”
In addition to cooking and serving in Portland, WCK partnered with local restaurants in southern Oregon to provide meals for communities in Ashland and Medford who have also been impacted by the massive wildfires. Tapping into the program we created through our COVID emergency response—Restaurants for the People—WCK is paying the restaurants struggling due to the pandemic to prepare meals for their neighbors in need.
Chef Melissa owns Sammich, a restaurant with locations in Portland and Ashland. She teamed up with WCK to serve thousands of meals in Ashland, and told us, “I have a moral obligation to take care of my community. They’ve always taken care of me, so now it’s my job to step up to the plate and help take care of them. I’m a natural born leader, that’s what I was put on this earth to do.”
As fires in Oregon reach containment, our team is ramping down efforts. To keep up-to-date with the latest information,, please follow WCK on Twitter and Instagram.
