(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Two men with Chicago ties have been helping feed people who lost their homes in the Maui wildfires.
Joey Africa says he and Brian Ingram set up a mobile kitchen in a parking lot in Napili Market, just north of Lahaina, shortly after arriving last Thursday.
Africa is an artist who lives in West Town. Ingram is a chef who worked at Weber Grill in River North for a decade before starting Purpose Driven Restaurants in Minneapolis.
That role took him to Turkey to serve food after the earthquake in February.
The men have been cooking pork, vegetables, eggs and whatever else is available to serve about 500 people at each meal.
Africa says the parking lot is full of other volunteers, aid groups and companies handing out donated goods.
They added to the supply with 2,000 pounds of personal hygiene products and other items they brought from the Midwest.
Both men tell WBBM Newsradio that residents are worried the support will run out and people will forget about them.
Ingram says one of the men working with them is lucky his apartment was spared by the fire. His landlord still expects him to pay rent even though he hasn’t been able to work his hospitality job, he added.
Africa disagrees with some observers who say tourists should stay away from Maui. He says that revenue is essential for local job recovery.
The pair expect to leave Maui on Friday.
For more information about the charity behind the effort, click here.
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