GIFFORD — Several organizations and volunteers served plates of bread, chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli on Wednesday for lunch and dinner, passing out 500 plates for those impacted by last week’s tornadoes. The Indian River County NAACP and American Red Cross organized the event and plan to meet again Thursday and Friday to continue the food giveaways.
“This is an act of comfort. Some people may not have had major house damage, but they have emotional damage,” said Joe Flescher, Indian River County commissioner, who was at Wednesday’s event. “The tornadoes ripped apart people’s livelihood. People need to be brought back up. We have volunteers from all walks of life. This shows the strength of community.”
The groups will be back out about noon and 5 p.m. passing out meals at a field on the corner of 45th Street and 31st Avenue, down the street from Gifford Middle School. Drivers can pull up and get their free trays, or can park and walk up to get the food.
Volunteers will have up to 200 food trays to give out, said volunteer Jonnie Mae Perry, executive director for the Gifford Historical Museum and Cultural Center. The food giveaways are in response to the damaging impacts tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton left in Indian River County, leveling homes and leaving thousands without power for several days.
Representatives with American Red Cross South Florida Region, Indian River County NAACP, the School District of Indian River County, Kiwanis Club of Vero – Treasure Coast, Rotary Club of Vero Beach and Meals on Wheels helped pass out food on Wednesday.
Some volunteers like Celia Wright, 66, of Gifford, drove around the community and passed out plates of macaroni and cheese, chicken strips and broccoli. Organizer Tony Brown, president of the Indian River County NAACP, said the giveaways allow people to get a real meal and not be judged.
“The volunteers were awesome. These people showed up and served the community,” Brown said. “If we put aside egos and agendas, we’ll be powerful. That’s love.”
More volunteers also gave out 450 plates of free food, including green beans and collard greens, on Saturday and Sunday at the park located at the Victor Hart Sr. Community Enhancement Complex. Those food giveaways were organized by volunteer Angela Humphrey, volunteers said.
Janessa Brown, 36, and Vanessa Ross, in her 50s, both of Gifford, passed out food trays at Sunday’s event. The mother and daughter also volunteered with their church, World Deliverance Church, to hand out dinners at Dodgertown Elementary School and around the community.
“It was needed because nobody had lights or water. We went to different neighborhoods,” Brown said. “The people are grateful. We gave out food and toilet paper. We delivered plates with spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, hot dogs, chips, fried chicken, rolls. We went door-to-door at homes that didn’t have lights.”
Brown said it seemed most power was restored to homes when she drove around Gifford on Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, 14 Florida Power & Light Co. customers in Indian River County were still without power, according to the FPL power tracker.
Photos by Nick Samuel
