Salvation Army provides meals to shelters
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on October 12, 2016 9:57 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Displaced families staying at the shelter at Carver Heights Elementary School receive hot meals from the Salvation Army canteen. The meals were prepared and served by Salvation Army personnel.
Hurricane Matthew may be gone, but life is far from being back to normal for its victims.
To help people who are in shelters or in their homes with no power, the Salvation Army began providing hot meals Saturday and will continue to do so until the meals are no longer needed.
"We have fed from Saturday from right when the storm hit until today and will continue to feed," said Lt. Phillip Stokes with the Salvation Army.
"My wife, myself and some volunteers from our church and from the community came to the Salvation Army and prepared meals. We're feeding upwards to 200 and 300 people each meal."
Lt. Sherrie Stokes has also been going around to apartment complexes that are without power, serving meals. Monday night, she took the Salvation Army's canteen to several neighborhoods, pulled up and blew the horn to let people know she had hot meals.
"(Monday) night she fed more than 400 people and ran out of food," Stokes said. "There were a lot more we didn't get to."
"We're trying to get the word out to those who don't have power and we're trying our best to get to them and at least give them a supper."
He said Tuesday was the first day the organization had its canteen out delivering meals.
"Before we could use the canteen, I was driving my minivan," Stokes said. "Saturday we had to go down to Seven Springs and Mount Olive and then come back and do North Drive and also the emergency operations center, serving them lunch and dinner.
"Around 4 p.m. we were at the corner of Wayne Memorial Drive and Royall Avenue and I went through ponding. I found out Monday I seized the engine with water. That's going to be an $8,000 fix."
The Salvation Army personnel had to be rescued by EMS.
"A guy brought a big truck out there to pick us up," Stokes said.
While they were waiting on rescue, the Stokeses saw an elderly couple sitting in their car because they had ponded, too.
"We took them a meal and water until someone could get there and help them out," Stokes said. "Even when we were stranded, we were still trying to help people."
The canteen is parked at the shelter at Carver Heights School, serving meals to people staying there. The Red Cross picks up meals from the canteen and takes them to those in the shelter at Eastern Wayne School.
"We deliver meals to O'Berrry medical for the hospice patients," Stokes said. "And when we go there, we do pastoral care with them. We sit down and talk to them and pray with them. We spend time with those residents."
While helping others, the Salvation Army is also getting help.
"My wife, daughter and I were sitting down to eat lunch to take a moment's break Monday and the food bank called," Stokes said. "They said they were going to bring us food. My wife broke down in tears, tears at being overwhelmed at the outpouring of people from outside our community wanting to help us."
Other help came in the form of a Salvation Army canteen from Prince Georges, Md., close to Washington, D.C.,
Capt. Pradeep Ramaji brought the canteen to Goldsboro Monday and is helping feed those in shelters and others in the community with no power.
"I have a heart to help people who are in situations like this," Ramaji said. "I knew I was coming to help people with power outages and no place to live and no way to get food. God will certainly help the people and make all things work together. This is only a tunnel in time and the sunshine will be out again."
Lt. Jake Law with the Salvation Army in Wilson also came to Goldsboro to lend a hand.
Two Salvation Army volunteers from Salisbury are manning the canteen, having arrived in Goldsboro Monday.
"My captain asked me and here I am," said Melissa Cline. "I am making and serving food and I've been talking to people.
"A lady's car got flooded and she lost it. She has no power at home so she's here at the shelter.
"Another lady doesn't have her diabetic test strips and she's having trouble getting them. I told her I have an extra box and I'll bring them to see if they will work. If they do, she's welcome to have them."
Ms. Cline said seeing the hurricane victims breaks her heart.
"We went into the shelter and had devotions with them and just seeing them in there, I want to help them as much as I can," she said.
Her sister-in-law, Daisy Cline, also from Salisbury, said she came to do whatever she can to help.
"It makes me feel really good because that's what I want to do is help," she said. "If I need to pray with somebody, I will. I'll hug them and love on them. I want to be a blessing to them because they're a blessing to me."
Both women have been sent out by the Salvation Army for 14 days, but say they'll say as long as they're needed.
Stokes said he's been told to plan on feeding for at least seven days.
"It could be longer," he said. "There have been some people who have been told it could be up to three or four weeks before they get their power back on.
"When the shelters dissipate and the people are able to go back into their homes, we will find a central location and take our mobile kitchen out in the community and serve meals."