Just three days ago, the city was hit by three tornadoes and straight-line winds of 160 mph, causing widespread damage and leaving about 80,000 residents without power or a hot, stress-relieving meal.
Local businesses, community leaders, and generous Tallahassee residents came together to help feed those without power and those working around the clock to restore power.
Some offer in-store parking, like Angela Dunlap, who was looking forward to the grand opening of her Lord of Crafts store on Saturday, May 11. . She instead allowed food trucks like Brown's Halo to park in front of her store at 438th Street. Famway.
Some have brought food trucks directly to areas that need them most.
Rudy Ferguson Sr., pastor of New Birth Tabernacle of Praise on Harlem Street and a candidate for City Commission Seat 1, along with a few others, is working with Peter's Sons Barbecue. and provided meals to the south side of Tallahassee.
“We've done everything we can in a small way to reduce stress as much as possible,” Ferguson said Monday in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. “Especially by feeding people and giving them hope and comfort.”
On Friday night, Ferguson participated in a call where people were looking for ways to help, and food was the key to immediate relief.
“Instead of saying we can't do anything, we don't have anything, we just put our heads together and made it happen,” Ferguson said.
On Saturday morning, the team headed to Sam's Club, where they purchased enough food to feed up to 400 people until sunset that afternoon.
The Piggly Wiggly parking lot on South Monroe Street was serving hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and water.
Tony Osborne, owner of Peter's Sons Barbecue, helped prepare the food, and members of the New Birth Tabernacle of Praise congregation provided enough food for people to eat two or three if they wanted. I helped to do it.
“It was a very heart-warming experience to see hungry children and people patiently waiting for power to be restored,” Ferguson said.
Other local food truck owners, including Talley Arepas, helped feeding line workers work around the clock.
Owner Erica Rojas was feeding Amy Davis of Belfour Property Restoration, a disaster recovery and property restoration company, on Saturday afternoon as she tried to feed 35 staff members working on damage recovery at Florida A&M University. I saw the Facebook post.
Teams are preparing buildings around campus that were damaged by the storm to accommodate students.
Davis said some of the destruction was more extensive than others. “We're going to be out of here for a while, at least until the end of this week,” he said, adding that the roofs of some buildings were torn off. I explained the situation.
The main focus now is the Benjamin Banner Car Buildings A and B off Railroad Avenue, which she said “beared the brunt.” Other buildings include the Dyson Pharmacy and the Grand Ballroom on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Tallie Arepas came to the rescue with a hot plate of authentic Venezuelan food, including chicken rice, sweet plantains and shredded chicken, to thank some of the workers for their service.
“They loved it. The food was great and they ate it up in no time,” Davis said.
“I don't work on Sundays, and I especially don't work on Mother's Day. I actually did it because I know it's a special moment,” said Rojas, who celebrated Mother's Day late in her pregnancy. .
Rojas said she was glad to be able to accommodate the request because “there aren't many places that serve hot food.”
▶ Did your food truck help save the day? Email Kyla Sanford at ksanford@tallahassee.com to tell us how you helped. We will try to include you in this story.
Kyla A. Sanford covers food and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com. Have a new restaurant opening, special sale or event coming up? Let us know!