Orange Beach’s motto “Life is better here,” has never been truer as neighbors help neighbors.
Residents, businesses, churches and Orange Beach City employees have been reaching out to help others in the community during the pandemic. Beach communities are no stranger to hard times, hurricanes are a constant threat. The Deep Horizon oil spill hit 10 years ago, and a worldwide pandemic is not how the gulf coast planned to remember that time. In 10 years, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be remembered.
Many children rely on the meals they receive at school for their daily nutrition and with schools closed many in the community worried about the students. Dr. Erika McCoy, Orange Beach High School principal, and several local businesses, churches and organizations have teamed up to provide daily hot meals and weekly food boxes.
Brian Harsany, owner of several local restaurants, closed his restaurants but the kitchen at Luna’s is operating daily to prepare the student meals. A call for donations on Facebook was quickly filled, providing funds to order food that is prepared daily providing over 75 hot meals delivered by school staff and principals.
Weekly food boxes are also being distributed out of Orange Beach High School. The Island Church has delivered over 3,000 pounds of food alone. The city is also helping coordinate and deliver food to the school as well.
“I’ve had several of the local hotels contact me that have breakfast bars and wanted to donate their milk, produce and fresh items to the relief effort. I have coordinated getting those supplies to the staff at Orange Beach schools who are volunteering to take those resources and food to local students and their families,” said Chris Litton, Orange Beach logistics coordinator.
Thirty family food boxes are being delivered by school staff every week. Feeding the local children has been a community effort coordinated locally.
Budweiser-Busch Distributing has also teamed up with Luna’s Eat and Drink to provide service industry employees in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach a meal on April 30.
Chicken, sausage and shrimp jambalaya with a hot roll will be available for pickup, but you must sign-up in advance for a pickup time before noon, April 29. Once meals have been claimed the sign-up will close. One meal per service industry employee. No substitutions available. For more information visit Luna’s Eat and Drink Facebook page. To sign up visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040B4AA8AE2AA2F85-meals.
Fisher’s and sister restaurant Playa partnered with Cathead Distillery to bring family meals to residents in the local community that are on the front lines of the pandemic, or currently unemployed due to COVID-19, on April 22 and 27.
Every Thursday, Island Church has created a COVID-19 Response Team with the purpose of providing food and resources for families in the community with a weekly emergency food distribution drive-thru. Individuals can also apply for help on the church website: www.theislandchurch.tv.
The Christian Resource Center has seen an increase in the number of people needing help. They have ordered over 25,000 pounds of food and are seeing around 40 people a day.
Low-income residents of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan are eligible for assistance with food, emergency financial aid and other needed help from the Christian Service Center. The Center is open 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. Call 251-968-5256.
For safety during this time, the center is doing business by phone. You are asked to call when you are in the parking lot at 317 Dolphin Ave. in Gulf Shores. If you do not have phone service, knock on the door and someone will come outside and speak with you using six-foot social distancing measures.
Mayor Tony Kennon pushed out an initiative to coordinate city staff and volunteers to help the most vulnerable by running errands, getting groceries, picking up medication and calling to check in on people. Orange Beach logistics coordinator Chris Litton is one of the city employees leading the effort.
“We have staff that are calling people on the list of high-risk individuals that the city has compiled from the list the Mayor’s office has compiled, the recreation center, senior center and people that have contacted the city after the announcement was published on Facebook. Staff are calling those folks on a regular basis to check in and see if there is a need. If they cannot be reached, Kevin Lanford with the Orange Beach Fire Department is going door to door to check them,” Litton said.
“The mayor and council and have pretty much given us whatever resources we need to take care of those people and make sure the community was best taken care of. We put together a system where the calls for assistance go into Mayor Kennon’s office and they are then sent to myself and a few other people in the city where we determine the need and matching them to volunteers or organizations that can meet that need best” Litton said.
The mayor’s office maintains a list of high-risk individuals who city staff and first-responders check on and can assist, as needed. If you or someone you know is in need, please reach out to the mayor’s office at 251-981-6810 or email hbryant@orangebeachal.gov.
