FORT MYERS (WWJ) – Florida is on the road to recovery after it was hammered by Hurricane Ian last week, leaving thousands of families displaced.
Several groups from Michigan and Metro Detroit have jumped into action to to provide assistance, including DTE Energy helping restore power, the Michigan Humane Society rescuing animals and volunteers with the Red Cross helping out at shelters.
Now a Michigan-based company is feeding the hungry.
After learning there were hundreds of families sleeping at schools and convention centers in Fort Myers in the aftermath of the storm, a Detroit Wing Company employee battled treacherous road conditions and drove six hours to bring them food.
Alex Merturi was manning the company’s food trailer in Tampa and decided to drive south to Fort Myers, one of the hardest hit areas.
Merturi tells WWJ word spread quickly and families came out in droves. He said people were crying and hugging him and other employees and were appreciative of the support.
“People were also very excited that we were there. They were happy,” he said. “We had people say, ‘my God, thank you for coming, thanks for driving so far down and coming down here, we really needed this support.’”
DWC has had a team running a food trailer in the Tampa area since earlier this year. During the team’s six-hour drive from Tampa to Fort Myers, Merturi says they encountered road closures, road blocks, police and National Guard.
“It took us literally six hours to get there,” Merturi said. “But you wanna know something? When you’re on a mission to help people and you’re on a mission to be part of the community, the six hours didn’t feel like anything, to be honest with you. We wanted to be there, we wanted to help, and that’s what we were excited about.”
The DWC team is planning to restock their food trailer and find other affected areas to donate food this week and is looking for tips on shelters especially looking for help. Merturi said the trailer will be in Sarasota on Monday.
Related
