In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, emergency aid organization World Central Kitchen arrived in downtown Asheville at the award-winning barbecue restaurant Bear’s Smokehouse, providing meals for people affected by the storm.
“Bear’s was doing this on Saturday before they even arrived, me and my team, cooking and handing out food,” said Cheryl Antoncic-Suess, one of the founders and co-owners of Bear’s, “we knew it was the right thing to do, and then they happened to land in their helicopter behind us, we didn’t even really know they were coming.”
Antoncic-Seuss said she and her business partner, Jamie McDonald, were unable to communicate until a phone call Saturday after the storm, where McDonald informed her there was aid on its way to the restaurant.
“Now it’s really about finding and scouting the areas in need, calling people and saying ‘what have you heard here’ and then sending people out to set up the food distribution,” Antoncic-Seuss said.
WCK has a system of volunteer drivers, trucks, and helicopters dedicated to delivering food to nearby hotels, apartment complexes, and other food distribution centers across Western North Carolina.
“Some people say they do it for their own mental health, just to be doing something, but it just attracts awesome, compassionate people,” said Ken Delia, a resident and volunteer cook.
Delia has worked in similar crises with different organizations, going down to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
“To be cheesy, It feels like what I’m on this earth to do is to make food for people when there is a crisis,” Delia said, “I was lying in bed one night and thought, I needed to feed people.”
Senior business student and Asheville native Quinn Mitchell was in the dorms when Helene hit campus.
“My parents, who live in Asheville, were left without water, without power, without internet as well and it was a tough few weeks for them. Going from modern conveniences to having to haul water up from a communal pool to flush toilets is a bit of a transition,” Mitchell said.
His first day volunteering at World Central Kitchen, Mitchell was given a job offer to work full time in data entry.
“The data that I provide helps people who make decisions make the best decisions possible, and it’s a lot of responsibility, because if I get the numbers wrong, then a meal could be messed up and people could go hungry. I take it very seriously, but one thing I’ve learned about WCK is that if people just stuck to their job descriptions, nothing would get done,” Mitchell said.
According to a report from Charity Watch in April, 96% of all WCK’s profits and donations go back into programs and the process of helping people, whereas the other 4% goes toward overhead, which includes fundraising, salaries and management.
“When it comes to nonprofit work, they are some of the most organized and effective that I have ever seen. I didn’t even know that it was possible to have this level of competency from a non-governmental organization,” Mitchell said.
According to Mitchell, at least two other students from UNC Asheville volunteered in the kitchen and distribution center of the organization, preparing food, cooking, packaging it and sending it out to the drivers.
““The diverse backgrounds of the people who work at WCK is virtually unrivaled,” Mitchell said, “At one point I was working next to a man who ran food and beverage at the Ritz Carlton, and I’ve worked with famous chefs from around the world, I’ve worked with people from every walk of life and every part of the world.”
In addition to the students working and volunteering at this location, Bear’s Smokehouse is a known sponsor for the UNC Asheville Athletics department and often provides food for basketball games.
As students are allowed back in the dorms, World Central Kitchen and Bear’s Smokehouse continues to be a resource for Western North Carolina, providing food and other resources to those in need.
“WCK is positioned to be here as a resource to the community, set up at Bear’s Smokehouse, ‘til there’s all indications, or most of the indicators, that schools are back, utilities are back on and the community is coming back to a sense of balance,” said Antoncic-Seuss.
