[StBernard] Emergency Communities and More...

[Westley Annis]

Emergency Communities and More...

December 13 , 2005

By: Steve Cannizaro


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Emergency Communities site opened Monday with free meals for the public;
winners announced in "Christmas Tour of Trailers'' held Dec. 10; another
Christmas party slated for this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

An organization called Emergency Communities, promising free meals for
anyone in St. Bernard Paris, for the next 12 weeks, opened Monday in a tent
on the site of the old off-track betting parlor on West Judge Perez Drive in
Arabi.

"We're non-religious and non-political,'' said Scott Ankeny of the southern
California area, who is one of the organizers of the group. "We have no
agenda but to feed people.''

The group set up in the Waveland, Ms., within weeks of Hurricane Katrina but
is making its first stop in a Louisiana parish, he said.

The focus is on feeding residents "but we'll feed anyone in St. Bernard,'' 
he said.

The group will serve more than 1,000 meals at a sitting for breakfast, lunch

and supper, Ankeny said. Hours for meals are 8:30-10 a.m., 12:30- 2 p.m. and

5:30-8 p.m.

He said the group receives food donations from a chicken supply company and 
several food co-operatives. But he said they could use donations of tables 
and chairs for meals.

Shannon Bowley of the Seattle, Wash., area, another member of the group, 
said when they left Waveland they wanted to go to another area hit hard by 
Katrina. "It seemed like there was a strong need here,'' she said.

Ankeny said Emergency Communities is made up of about 40 volunteers, mostly 
in their 20s and 30s. "Most of us here tried to sign up with the Red Cross''

and other relief agencies after Katrina struck but were disappointed they 
weren't immediately sent to the disaster area. Most made their way to the 
Mississippi Gulf Coast o their own and ended up creating a loosely knit 
organization to provide food for the hungry, Ankeny said.

Ankeny and Bowley said the site will be "family-oriented,'' with a 
children's area, with story-telling, and a television on which Christmas 
movies will be shown. "It should be fun for kids,'' Ankeny said. Live music 
will also be held, they said.

The group is commited to being in the parish for 12 weeks, they said.

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The Christmas held by parish government on Saturday, Dec. 10, drew several 
hundred children and their parents, with a giant toy-give-away.

One of the highlights was the "Christmas Tour of Trailers,'' featuring 
decorated travel travels in which parish government workers are living in 
behind the government building and Civic Center.

Prizes were awarded in for categories. Most Unique was won by Rick 
Stierwald, for his MRE Santa; Most Childlike was won by Mike Moolekamp for 
Toyland; Most Creative was won by Parish Council member Ricky Melerine for 
Winter Wonderland; and Tackiest was won by Council member Judy Hoffmeister 
for Duct Tape Christmas.

Clerk of Parish Council Polly Boudreaux, one of the organizers of the tour 
of trailers, said about 30 were decorated. "I think people had a lot of 
fun,'' she said.

Another Christmas party will be held, Saturday, Dec. 17, at 2;30 p.m., also 
behind the parish government building. This one, featuring food and gifts 
for children, is sponsored by St. Charles Parish government as a present to 
St. Bernard residents.