The Harry Chapin Food Bank is stepping up to help its sister food banks that are continuing to struggle to provide food and disaster relief to victims of unprecedented flooding, due to Hurricane Florence, in North and South Carolina.
Dennis Hall, the food bank’s warehouse manager at our 55,000-square-foot Fort Myers Distribution Center, will leave Thursday morning to assist in the New Bern and Raleigh areas of North Carolina.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank is a member of the Feeding America network of 200 food banks, which quickly moved water, more than 2 million pounds of food, and manpower to the areas in immediate need after Florence hit. As the flooding from Florence continues to devastate the area, Feeding America has asked for assistance and expertise from its members to provide additional resources.
Hall will be working in conjunction with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh. He has taken FEMA classes in disaster relief and recently completed additional training in Tampa. Hall will be a member of a new disaster relief team, currently being formed in the wake of Hurricane Irma, by Feeding Florida, the state affiliation under Feeding America.
“I’m excited to be a part of it, to be able to help out and see where I can lend my experience,” Hall said of his upcoming trip. He brings expertise in running a warehouse, inventory, food safety, and fork lift operation.
“As everyone in Southwest Florida knows following our experience with Irma last year, hurricanes call upon all of us in our community to work together,” said Richard LeBer, food bank president and CEO. “We’re proud to help our sister food banks in the Carolinas to recover from Hurricane Florence.”