2,000 pounds of food flown to NC from New Orleans

NEW BERN, Craven County — A private plane from New Orleans carrying 2,000 pounds of frozen food for survivors of Hurricane Florence landed Sunday at a small airport in New Bern.

Chef Amy Sins owns Langlois restaurant in New Orleans and helped organize the shipment of food. The food came from a food bank in New Orleans.

“We have seen our share of disaster, we have seen our share of flooding flooding,” Sins said. “As soon as I saw that Florence was going to hit in this area I started mobilizing troops saying what can we do.”

Sins’s home and garage flooded during Hurricane Katrina.

“We know what it’s like to take everything you own, dirty, muddy, soggy and drag it to the curb,” Sins said.

Christopher Thames used to live in Lafayette, Louisiana but now lives in Kinston. He got the ball rolling on this air drop.

“I got teary on the way here. I was like the plane is coming,” Thames said. “I lived through it so many times and to be a part of that, it’s just pretty amazing.”

Buddy Bengel owns restaurants in New Bern that will help prepare the food so it can be delivered to people who need it.

“Thank you to Chef Amy and all of the chefs from New Orleans, they’re just outstanding,” Bengel said. “Their generosity is really amazing right now. I personally appreciate and I know the people of eastern North Carolina appreciate it, too.”

The food will help but Chef Amy also comes bearing words of advice for survivors of Florence who’ve lost everything.

“Keep your chin up, keep your chin up. It will get better but it’s a tough road,” Sins said.

Sins said the amount of food can be stretched by adding rice to it. If that happens, it could feed between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

2,000 pounds of food was also sent to Myrtle Beach.