NEW ORLEANS — Many people in southeast Louisiana emptied their refrigerators and freezers prior to Hurricane Ida and with it went a lot of the money they had spent for that food.
Now, with a need to replenish their supplies and with many grocery stores still not open or having limited supplies, there is a need for food, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.
Wednesday hundreds of cars lined up around City Park for a shot at food being given out by Culture Aid NOLA.
There was both a walk up line and a drive-thru line and the drive-thru was cut off in quick order as more cars lined up than available supplies were on hand.
“We’re hungry,” said Armando Baralt, who drove in from Metairie, saying that grocery stores shelves were pretty barren and that his food had to be thrown out. “I was looking for food to fill up the fridge. My wife saw the fill up your fridge opportunity… I said, ‘we’re going.’”
With the help of more than 250 volunteers and three local organizations, Erica Chomsky got “Fill the Fridge” off the ground.
“I called City Park and they didn’t ask a question,” said New Orleans Councilman Joe Giarrusso. “They were like, ‘we’re in.’”
Organizers say they put together the event in less than 36 hours.
“What we found over the last couple of days is there are a lot of reasons why no one produces a festival-sized event in 36 hours using a cell phone with a solar-powered charge,” said Chomsky.
In New Orleans style, the event included local musicians providing some atmosphere.
“This is the greatest city on the planet,” said Baralt. “I love it here.”