Salvation Army regroups in North Port; others step in to provide hot meals

Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read

The Awaken Church outreach center and food pantry, 4940 Pan American Boulevard, North Port, will serve hot meals from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

The meals are supplied in part by Laurel Civic and Paradise Grill in Nokomis.

John Horne, with Anna Maria Oyster Bar and new owner of the Family Table Restaurant, 14132 Tamiami Trail, North Port is providing hot meals from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Related: Relief group based in Venice provides hot meals and crews to repair damage

And: Education Foundation of Sarasota County establishes Ian Disaster Relief Fund

Meanwhile the Salvation Army is regrouping after its service center at 14600 Tamiami Trail, North Port was destroyed by the hurricane.

The center in Cape Coral has been destroyed as well. The social services and disaster relief organization has still assembled and deployed multiple teams of disaster workers to aid in the Hurricane Ian relief effort.

The Salvation Army service center at 14600 Tamiami Trail, North Port was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
The Salvation Army service center at 14600 Tamiami Trail, North Port was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

Salvation Army has sent nearly 200 trained disaster workers into the affected areas of the Gulf coast

The Salvation Army has sent nearly 200 trained disaster workers into the affected areas of the Gulf coast, including 40 mobile feeding vehicles. The relief workers, made up of Salvation Army officers, staff and volunteers, have come primarily from the southeastern U.S., but some have come from as far as Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Texas. Response team command centers had been set up in Fort Myers, Port Charlotte and Naples, and a fourth command center in Venice became operational earlier this week.

The Salvation Army’s disaster response mission is to meet immediate needs by providing food, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care for both survivors and relief workers, and to guide people with immediate shelter needs to partner agencies.

To date, Salvation Army teams have distributed approximately 215,000 meals, snacks and beverages to those impacted by the hurricane. In addition, they were able to offer emotional and spiritual care to more than 2,500 people.

On Thursday, the Salvation Army team was operating near several locations:

In North Port: Atwater Elementary School, 4701 Hunstville Ave.; Dollar General  3085 W Price Blvd.; and San Pedro Catholic Church 14380 Tamiami Trail.

In Englewood: Englewood Mobile Home Park 2405 Hero Lane; Englewood Alameda Isles, 1 Almeda Grande; Brook to Bay 1891 Englewood Road; Englewood Greens Village Englewood Service Center 1700 South Tamiami Trail .

The Salvation Army is working in conjunction Southern Baptist Relief, which has set up a distribution center at First Baptist Church of Venice,312 Miami Ave., W., Venice.

Also in Englewood, the Englewood Chamber of Commerce, 601 S. Indiana Ave., has free Wifi access and free supplies that have come in from donors around the state.

The chamber is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can also deliver supplies.

Items available include, food, water, gasoline, propane tarps, cleaning supplies, baby formula, diapers, wipes, clothes, toys, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, dog food and treats and potty pads.

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Salvation Army regroups, others step in on Hurricane Ian relief efforts