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Kitchen 44 Closes, Feeding Operations Continue
The last Red Cross mobile kitchen in New Orleans packed up and moved out, but mass care of Hurricane Katrina survivors continue in Louisiana
Allen Crabtree, Special to RedCross.org
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 — NEW ORLEANS, LA – The haunting strains of “Amazing Grace” played by Red Cross volunteer Terry Cooney on his bagpipes filled the sanctuary of the Calvary Baptist Church in New Orleans as Red Cross and Southern Baptist volunteers from Kitchen 44 gathered for an emotional ceremony to close a major chapter in the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina disaster relief story.
American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are being loaded for their morning runs at Kitchen 44 in New Orleans while Red Cross volunteer Terry Cooney serenades the crews with his bagpipes, Jan. 26, 2006.
(Photo credit: Tom Jacobson/American Red Cross)
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For nearly 16 weeks, volunteers at this assemblage of stoves, tents, trucks and storage pallets set up in the church parking lot had cooked meals for Hurricane Katrina survivors. On Saturday, Feb. 4, they cooked their last meal in Kitchen 44.
“The Southern Baptists made a huge sheet cake emblazoned with ‘Thank You Red Cross – 850,000 meals served’ for all the assembled volunteers,” said Cooney, Red Cross supervisor at Kitchen 44. “It was very moving to say goodbye to all the friends we’ve made, but gratifying that the Red Cross is still going to be here to help those who need our help.”
Mobile kitchens like Kitchen 44 are set up when major disasters require emergency mass care of a local population by the Red Cross, often in partnership with a cadre of cooks from the Southern Baptist Convention. Staff and volunteers produce and distribute emergency food and beverages – including hot meals, snacks and water – to disaster survivors and response workers through set locations and via Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs).
The last Kitchen 44 meals were cooked and loaded on 23 Red Cross ERVs for distribution in St. Bernard, Plaquemines and Orleans Parishes where hurricane survivors still are struggling to recover from the hurricane. The kitchen was taken down and packed up, and remaining food stocks and equipment were loaded on trucks. By the end of the day, the church parking lot was nearly empty.
“You have done wonderful things here, and you should be proud,” Pastor Keith Manuel from Calvary Baptist told the volunteers earlier in the week. “Thank you for all that you have done to help the people of New Orleans.”
A parade of Red Cross ERVs enroute their new “home” in New Orleans at the Storm Services kitchen.
(Photo credit: Tom Jacobson/American Red Cross)
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Kitchen 44 was the last Red Cross/Southern Baptist mobile kitchen in Louisiana. By the time it closed its staff had cooked more than 850,000 meals, part of the more than 31 million meals and nearly 30 million snacks that have been distributed to hurricane survivors in the Gulf States to date. Feeding operations will continue in Louisiana while there is a need, but now it will be done through a New Orleans caterer.
“We have had a good run with Kitchen 44, but it is now time to transition to a catered operation,” said Patrick Keena, Red Cross Deputy Administrator for mass feeding at New Orleans. “The Red Cross has contracted with a local firm, Storm Services LLC, to continue to cook the meals to feed hurricane survivors in New Orleans. Their kitchen is located on Annunciation Street about two blocks from the I-90 Bridge over the Mississippi River.”
Keena indicated that operations were set to begin with Storm Services the day after Kitchen 44 closed, leaving no gap in service to local residents.
Under sunny blue skies on Sunday, Feb. 5, a long line of ERVs formed up and drove as a group across the Mississippi River Bridge to their new kitchen. With horns honking and people waving, Cooney led the parade in his pickup truck. As they pulled into the compound, Storm Services cooks were ready to load the first meals onto the ERVs for distribution.
“We are a local woman-owned company,” said Tommy Hopkins, part owner of Storm Services. “We have hired 30 local cooks and helpers to work at the kitchen, and we try and buy from local distributors like Bunny Bread and Cajun Kettle. We feature a full menu of New Orleans-style cooking that we think the folks here will like, like red beans and rice, chicken etoufee, jambalaya and other good stuff.”
Workers at the Storm Services LLC kitchen in New Orleans busily preparing the day’s meal for Hurricane Katrina survivors, Feb. 5, 2006.
(Photo credit: Tom Jacobson/American Red Cross)
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Storm Services is set up to cook 20,000 meals a day, but “we could easily ramp up to do 50,000 meals with no trouble at all,” Hopkins said. Under the terms of the contract with the Red Cross, Storm Services is required to have the capacity to increase the number of daily meals to 50,000 on 24-hour notice and 100,000 on 48-hour notice. As residents continue returning to their homes in New Orleans, the need for the kitchen and the Red Cross presence will continue for the foreseeable future.
Although the hurricane season has officially ended, the journey towards recovery continues, and the Red Cross will be there. The American Red Cross is committed to being a part of the recovery process and, with its partnerships and in a spirit of collaboration, will continue demonstrating tireless compassion every step of the way.
Allen Crabtree is a volunteer from the Southern Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross and lives in Sebago, Maine where he is a writer, antiquarian book dealer, blueberry farmer, town Selectman, volunteer fire fighter and ambulance driver.
Thomas Jacobson took the pictures that accompany this story. He is a volunteer from the Scenic Bluffs Chapter of the American Red Cross and lives in Viroqua, Wisconsin, where he is a professional photographer.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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