As parts of southwest Florida are cleaning up the damage after Hurricane Ian, many people are in need of a hot meal. Restaurants in South Florida are stepping up to help.
Mordy Menkes just opened up his food truck Wildflour Waffles in Hollywood and is getting his business off the ground.
After Hurricane Ian hit, he hit the ground running to help those affected by the storm. Menkes hopped in his food truck, and with the help of a volunteer, Sean Inglish, they drove over 100 miles to give out Kosher chicken and waffles.
”The closer we got to Cape Coral, you could start seeing that people really needed help, so we pulled in over there and we served anywhere between 60 to 70 people. We brought Kosher food to people who didn’t have an option,” Menkes said.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Hurricane Ian
All the meals were given out for free, and donated by the community of the Chabad of Emerald Hills. Menkes went up the west coast of Florida to Naples, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Punta Gorda. With the help of Ben Kupershmidt at the Chabad of Cape Coral, they were able to make a big impact.
“This morning we got up early and made a couple batches of waffles and drove to Punta Gorda, and there is disaster. That’s where people really need help,” Menkes said.
Entire communities are without electricity and gas and food are scarce, so Menkes says every little bit helps.
Other restaurants like FINKA Table & Tap in Miami-Dade collected water, food and supplies to send to Punta Gorda over the weekend.
“Most people don’t have power still and it looks like it’s probably going to be another week before they get power. Since we had a contact over there, we went to a Chevrolet dealership with our food truck," said said Eileen Andrade, chef, restauranteur and owner of FINKA Table & Tap. "We did a 24-hour collection and so many people donated to FINKA and Barbakoa. We took everything over there — water, sports drinks, batteries, flashlights, the essentials."
The restaurant group also brought their food truck to whip up some meals as they fed and brought comfort to people in need. They’re also trying to team up with World Central Kitchen to try and reach more people in communities affected by the storm.
“I would say we fed 100 people. There was one particular family with a pregnant woman with her husband and two kids. They don’t have power and they probably won’t have power for another week, so we made sure they left with full hands and dinner as well as lunch,” Andrade said.
