Freezers taped shut, food dangling from ceilings: How food pantries prepare for Hurricane Florence

She’s not alone. Food pantries—the smaller, neighborhood facilities supplied by the larger distribution depots known as food banks—are a crucial link in the larger food assistance network that feeds people across the country, and their role is especially important during natural disasters. As cities brace for Florence’s impact, food pantries and food banks across the Carolinas are stepping up to make sure people have the supplies they need to weather a range of scenarios, and won’t go hungry in the uncertain days ahead.

“We’re making preparations for transportation, for trucks, for additional staffing,” says Liz Reasoner, executive director of Food Bank of the Albemarle and board member of Feeding the Carolinas, a regional network of food banks. “We’ve probably distributed a quarter of a million pounds collectively across [North and South Carolina] in advance of the storm.”

That’s a good thing. Increased demand shortly before Florence’s landfall means residents are more likely to have supplies, and it also means there’s less inventory on hand to be damaged by the storm. Food kept in storage risks coming into contact with flood water—which can contain waste, sewage, and bacteria—making it inedible. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises people to toss any food that touches flood water, including food held in containers that aren’t waterproof, such as cardboard boxes, plastic wrap, and even drink bottles with screw-caps. (A full list of the agency’s recommended precautionary measures can be found here.)

But it’s also important that some food remains on hand—people will need it in the storm’s aftermath. While residents evacuate for safer areas, food pantry managers like Linteau must do all they can to secure the supplies that remain.

At Storehouse, supplies hang dangled from the ceiling. Perishables are stored in freezers, which have been taped shut. Should the power go out, Linteau tells me, a nearby church has keys to the pantry and a generator to keep its freezers going.

Saving supplies from destruction is critically important, because many of the biggest challenges will come after Florence passes. Food insecurity increases in the days, weeks, and months after a devastating storm. And since it’s hard to know in advance which regions will be hardest hit, it’s important that food pantries across the storm-affected area remain well-stocked.

“One of the challenges that you have is trying not to presage too much product because you don’t know where the storm is going to make landfall,” Reasoner explains.

After natural disasters, it’s common for people who were previously food bank donors to rely on emergency assistance in order to get back on their feet, Reasoner tells me. A similar dynamic plays out on a larger scale when it comes to food banks in times of need—food banks, typically donors themselves, become the recipients of aid from elsewhere.  

“That’s when we call upon our sister food banks across the country to send resources in,” Reasoner says. “The North Carolina food banks, South Carolina food banks, and many food banks across the nation supported [affected areas] during Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Harvey. […] We step up when our sister food banks and communities need assistance and we will support each other in any way we can.”