New Orleans help requested-- post in this thread

NOTE FROM MODERATORS: Please see note about this thread below.


to the moderator: Although this message is not food related, I am asking you allow it in a time of need.

Hello Chicago!

I am a frequent poster to the New Orleans Talk Food message board and have a food web page, so I feel right at home on this forum. I just left New Orleans on Sunday and am in Chicago, maybe for quite a while. I have no idea when I will return and whether I have a home or a job when I return.

I am (was?) the manager of an upscale bar (www.thecolumns.com) on St. Charles avenue. Since I will be in Chicago for a while, I am looking for a place that may need a bartender. I don't care if it is one shift a week or a few. I am staying with a friend in Berwyn, and have a car, although I would rather hop on the L and go into the city. I have experience in upscale drinking establishments and can do very high volume.

If anyone has any leads or there are bar owners or managers here, please e-mail me at [email protected] . I will be checking my e-mail (hopefully) on a daily basis. My picure is at www.nolafoodie.com , my webpage.

Thank you so much.

-Kevin

See the blog from UptownKevin, a NOLA refugee. Can anyone suggest any resources for him, for finding jobs in food service in the Chicago area?

http://www.nolafoodie.com/

Have him check with Roosevelt University. I know they have a school dedicated to the Hospitality Industry. Maybe there are some courses or work referral services that they have. Of course if you're talking about being a waiter, just have him knock on doors. There are laways openings for waiters.

We don't normally encourage the use of the board for worthy causes because, of course, the list of worthy causes is many, their relationship to food is not always particularly direct, and we of course cannot vouch for every organization and cause that someone might post about.

But, as with last year's tsunami, we know that the disaster in the gulf region (not just New Orleans of course) is on a lot of peoples' minds, especially given how close to foodie hearts New Orleans and the entire region is. We've already had one request for individual help (above), and we feel that under these extraordinary circumstances we can allow requests for help here as long as they are directly related to the present disaster and do not solicit funds directly. (We reserve the right to remove anything we just feel funny about, of course.)

There are bound to be a large number of chefs, cooks, and servers from NOLA who will be without work in their home town perhaps for a year or more. It is hard to imagine that the tourism industry will be back on its feet in 2006. Perhaps Maradi Gras 2007 will be the best evr.

Let us hope that the NRA or other association will find some way in which to connect restaurant people from NOLA with restaurants in other cities.

And what a thrill for us to have an infusion of such talent. One would, of course, have hoped that it might have occurred for other reason.

I know Kevin from the Talk Food forum and have also had the pleasure of meeting him in person. I'm on the hunt for potential employment prospects right now.

http://www.nrnonline.blogspot.com
Blog on Katrina-affected restaurants and culinary pros from Nation's Restaurant News.

Also a volume-food donation request:

LARGE FOOD DONATIONS NEEDED

Chef John Folse & Company Manufacturing is seeking food donations in
60-pound quantities or more from food companies, grocery stores or other
ingredient companies.

Though we appreciate the general public's interest in contributing, we prepare volume food, so we MUST work with a minimum of 60-pound quantities. Pre-cooked foods are acceptable. Sixty pounds of food converts into about 200, 5-ounce portions, which will then be distributed to shelters in our area.

Donations can be delivered to Chris Caballero at:
Chef John Folse & Company Manufacturing
45270 Chef John Folse Blvd.
Donaldsonville, LA 70346
(225) 473-0100.

from the National Restaurant Association

http://www.restaurant.org/katrina/

I belong to the Southern Foodways Alliance who sent the following today:

For updates on the situation in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast, www.nola.com appears to be the best source.

Look to the blog at www.southernfoodways.com for a listing of New Orleans folks from whom we have heard. Also posted there are a few job and housing offers as well as some fundraising events.

By early next week, working in conjunction with the Beard Foundation, we hope to facilitate a job and lodging match service for restaurant employees. That will be available at www.jamesbeard.org. As part of this effort, we need volunteers willing to make 10 calls to restaurants. If you are willing, please email me and I will reply with directions next week,

More to come,

John T Edge



Work:

Southern Foodways Alliance
Barnard Observatory
University, MS 38677
662-915-5993
[email protected]
www.southernfoodways.com

LTH,

The following is an unedited email I received from a BBQ listserv on which I participate. I know Pigman Jim, who sent the email, personally and have sent a donation.

Regards,
Gary

=x=x=x=x
I'll take a couple sentences to be off topic. Just talked to my daughter and
this is the story. She lives in Jackson, Miss. where Jack Wimberly lives.
And Jackson as a whole except for sections of town still getting power restored
was spared a major hit by the hurricane. The church she attends got their
power back and when they found a large portion of Jackson was without power
they decided to offer help to those in Jackson that wanted to come out there
for a hot meal. Somewhere this got moved up the ladder to where the church
was a shelter. Then a bus from the N.O. area arrived with 15+ nursing home
patients. Having no place to go they turned part of the church into an area to
care for these people. She said then there were people coming looking for a
place to stay because they had left N.O. and South Miss, and now had no where to
return to, so they were trying to accomodate some of them in the gym of the
church. My daughter says this looks like this may be a long term project.

Anyhow at times like this sometimes we look at trying to help, but what can
we do, where can we send money that will actually help people, the church she
attends has maybe 300 on a good weekend and is not one of those places that
is flushed with wealthy people. I asked here where the money would come from
to help out with food, and other stuff for these people, her answer was we're
not sure, we'll just do what we can do.

Anyhow, if you are so inclined to want to help in some way, her address is:

Kristina Stewart
C/O River of Life Church
101 Parkway Dr
Brandon, MS 39047

If you choose to help, make checks out to River of Life Church and be sure
to tell her you are from the bbq list, it would make her day!! And you know
I don't usually make solicitations on here but under such extreme situations
I figured it would be O.K. Thanks for yer patience! From the Pigman!!!!!
P.S. If this post offends you just delete it.

Hi,

In today's Tribune was an article on hurricane refuges arriving to Illinois. As of Saturday, they estimate 400-500 refugees are in Illinois with no estimates how many may ultimately come.

The state of Illinois has a hot line, 800-843-6154 to give hurricane evacuees information on all the help available, from food to housing to schooling to medicine.

I heard on the radio there are people listing rooms available in their homes for evacuees on craigslist.com.

Regards,

Several LTHers pitched in to treat the Tipitina's musicians to lunch at Edna's some months ago. I contacted Bill Taylor to find out how any one on this board might give much needed aid these people. His reply:

Joe,

THanks so much. Here is our website (I am now in Asheville, NC using a
non-profit's office as our headquarters. Website: http://www.theleaf.com) All
info is there. Right now we are dealing with housing and fundraising
issues.

Bill

At the top of the page is a link to PayPal for The Tipitina's Foundation. They are a 501(c)3 for tax purposes.

Medical and relief personnel sought
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurrica ... cement.asp

Resource (food, etc.) donation registry
https://www.swern.gov

A number of colleges and universities are trying to accommodate students from the hurricane-stricken areas. For a general statement see
http://emergency.tulane.edu/ace.htm

The University of Chicago is accepting applications for the undergraduate College and for the Law School from such students right now, for the fall quarter which begins Monday, Sept. 26. Note that the deadline for applying is Thursday, Sept 8, for the Law School, and Monday, Sept 12 for the College. The usual application fee will be waived.

http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/0 ... rina.shtml

For information about applying to be a visiting student in graduate programs in Humanities or Social Sciences please send me a P.M.

I'm sure that many other institutions have set up similar expedited processes.

Amata

New Orleans Restaurant Workers Get Aid
The Commander's Palace restaurant family is creating a relief fund to help New Orleans hospitality industry workers who will be without jobs while the city is rebuilt. The New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund will provide assistance to cooks, servers and other restaurant workers.
http://email.rimag.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/ehp80Jmova0DO3037O0Et

(from R&I)

Hi,

Today the maintenance manager of my health club looked pretty exhausted. He had good reason: he drove a U-Haul to Baton Rouge and back to deliver donations from his church. His church is sending another truckload this weekend.

Congressman Mark Kirk of the 10th Congressional District has a semi-trailer parked behind the Hyatt on Lake-Cook Road and the tollroad collecting food, diapers, water, tissues and personal hygiene products to go to Houston (I think).

If you have goods you want to donate, then latching onto church or other groups can arrange their transportation and delivery to responsible hands.

Regards,

Southern Foodways Alliance wrote:The SFA is trying to help.

Here’s what we’re up to:

1) We are using our blog at www.southernfoodways.com to disseminate information about member status and about benefit efforts.

2) The SFA has partnered with CIRA (the Council of Independent Restaurants) and the James Beard Foundation to build a job bank for displaced restaurant workers.

More than 40 SFA members have volunteered to phone Beard Foundation restaurants. They are asking that the restaurant offer a minimum of one job to displaced workers. Preferably two or more. They are requesting that each offer must come with a promise of temporary housing and informing employers that employees may need help with relocation funds, too.

Job offers are posted at http://www.cirajobs.com/. Anyone may view jobs online. If you would like to post a job offer to the site, sign in at top right of the http://www.cirajobs.com/ page with user ID: beardjobs and password: post5@beard. And spread the word. Details, should you wish to share this information with others, are posted at www.southernfoodways.com.

3) Member-driven (as opposed to SFA-driven) fundraising efforts are coming online. We’ll keep you abreast of those, including an effort spearheaded by John Egerton, set to debut at Camp Bacon.

AND A QUICK NOTE: Owing to the job bank efforts, email traffic is especially high right now at the SFA office. Please check the web site first before directing questions our way.

Thanks, John T

If you live in the southern suburbs anywhere near Olympia Fields, please be advised that Temple Anshe Sholom has a semi-trailer in their parking lot and are accepting donations from 3 - 8 today and tomorrow, and tomorrow from 10 - 3, when the truck pulls out. Our rabbi used to have a congregation in Baton Rouge, and has connected with a Reverend who is using his church parrish as an emergency station. I know it's short notice, but if you can help with any hygiene items, over the counter drugs, clothing, water, food that can be cooked without extra preparation, please feel free to stop by and drop off your donation. For more information you can contact the temple office between 9 - 5 at (708) 748-6010.

Article from Restaurants & Institutions regarding job bank for hospitality workers displaced from hurricane katrina:

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/En ... 50&start=2

http://www.cirajobs.org/



leesh