Preparing pork tenderloin to go in dinner of evacuees at 5 Fusion & Sushi Bar.

Restaurants have been some of the hardest-hit businesses this year. After enduring the pandemic shutdown, they’ve supplemented a portion of business lost from fewer indoor tables by offering takeout and outdoor dining. The smoke from wildfires further put stress on restaurants as they now could not serve outdoors. And yet, when 200 evacuees from the Oregon wildfires who landed in Central Oregon needed meals, our restaurant community quickly rallied to donate.

Jon Axell, a spokesman for Red Cross, said it best, “What we’ve seen from the public during this disaster is an unlimited resource of generosity. After so many months of businesses being affected, you would think that maybe the generous spirit wouldn’t be there. The size of this disaster has required a huge amount of generosity that isn’t always a guarantee. But the generosity of these restaurants who are already going through so much is truly remarkable. We are very happy with it.”

In the same way our local restaurants rallied to care for first responders, teachers and others affected by COVID-19, they were quick to ask how they could help those affected by wildfires. Local restaurants reached out to the Red Cross to offer support. Big disasters require the organization to serve thousands of people per day. Although they partner with national groups, often they use local vendors. The Red Cross was happy to have Central Oregon restaurants support the feeding effort while they worked toward finding people places to stay. It allowed them a way to provide food.

When evacuees came to Central Oregon, they were first directed to the Deschutes County fairgrounds, where Red Cross set up its temporary evacuation point for the Cascades region. Kristen Heath was appointed the shelter supervisor. Following new COVID-19 protocols, as the evacuees checked in, they were directed to non-congregate sheltering : local hotels. They were spread among three locations in Bend and one in Redmond; some stayed in their own RVs at the fairgrounds.

When the owner of Zydeco, Steve Helt, contacted the Red Cross, he volunteered to help supply meals for those at the fairgrounds. Sysco food distributor agreed to donate hamburgers, hot dogs and buns. Brian Dioguardi of Baldy’s Barbecue stepped up to provide his trailer grill to cook the meats, as well as donating baked beans and coleslaw. Zydeco added a few more sides to round out the meal.

Other restaurants also paired together on meals. Since Jackalope is closed Monday through Wednesday, owner Kathy Garling contacted the Red Cross to see how their restaurant could help. There was a need for 200 lunches. Chef Tim Garling started grinding beef at 7 a.m. and made meatballs for sandwiches. Kathy Garling recruited eight friends who were quick to join in packing and pulling together the lunch bags. Broken Top donated the drinks. The food was ready for delivery by 11 a.m.

Jack Crowell has been coordinating meals as part of the Red Cross Disaster Team here in Bend. Restaurants have been contacting him and are told what day food is needed and how many meals.

With all that these evacuees must be going through, it’s nice to know they are getting some good meals. On Sept. 19, Crowell picked up 50 meals from Five Fusion and Sushi Bar. The restaurant created lunches that consisted of Korean barbecue ribeye, kimchi slaw, rice and grilled zucchini. They also provided a dinner that included ginger apple grilled pork tenderloin, scallion rice with butter asparagus and salad. The restaurant is making financial donations to the Red Cross as well.

Barrio also provided dinners. They chose to make a stew as it would be hearty and comforting. Tortillas, corn on the cob and watermelon rounded out the meal. Crowell delivered the food.

Crowell said he tries to get a restaurant to provide meals for all who are staying at one location. It would be awkward to decide which family received meals from different restaurants. Spork has been providing meals to the Hamilton Inn.

Many other restaurants have provided meals, some over multiple days. Joolz and Olive Garden have donated meals on more than one occasion. Buda Bowl food cart in Redmond provided meals for those with dietary restrictions. Nancy P’s, Bad Boy BBQ, Java Jungle of Bend, 10 Barrel, Chic-Fil-A, Mazatlan of Redmond, Terrebone Depot, Greg’s Grill, Bend-o Bento, and Bend Pizza Kitchen are some of the other restaurants that have participated in feeding the evacuees.

Kirk Heppler, owner of The Dough Nut donated 15 dozen donuts to the evacuees. He plans to do so again in the coming weeks. Zydeco has plans to pack up food (and possibly the grill) and drive out to Detroit to provide meals when people start going back to homes.

Some restaurants have wanted to offer gift cards, but the Red Cross cannot distribute cards for a specific establishment. Doing so would imply favoritism to that business. The manager of Red Robin and Greg’s Grill took matters into their own hands by delivering gift cards to the My Place Hotel. Those who are staying at the hotel can easily walk to the Old Mill restaurants.

Axell told me that many individuals wanted to cook for the evacuees. Still, the Red Cross cannot accept meals from individuals. “The donations and offers of donations from these restaurants are partnerships we can work with when it comes to providing food. They have commercial kitchens and food licenses and safe food handling practices. Right now, we can’t accept any home-cooked meal donations as we can’t guarantee the safety of the food — food safety or safety from the pandemic.” He added, “While the Red Cross can’t take the food, people can always cook for their community on their own.”

To help lessen the financial burden to restaurants, Morgan Schmidt of Pandemic Partners Facebook group in Bend worked with dine11.org to coordinate Central Oregon donations. The site began in Los Angeles to help feed the front-line workers and food insecure during the pandemic shutdown. Financial contributions could be passed to local restaurants to offset the cost of these meals and pay staff to help prepare the food. The need for food could take weeks.

Note: Most restaurants that have been providing meals for the Red Cross were reticent to tell their story. This is truly an act of community and selfless giving. They were not motivated by publicity. Please continue to support our local restaurants with your business and donate to the dine11.org site by clicking on the Central Oregon button.