HARLEM HEIGHTS, Fla. – Tuesdays are for stocking up at Gladiolus Food Pantry.
The little green building was filled with donations ready to go out to the community when Hurricane Ian hit.
Like much of Harlem Heights, the building took on a lot of water and strong winds.
Miriam Ortiz, executive director of the food pantry, lives a few streets away.
“The second day I came, the beans had sprouts,” she said of the flooded pantry.
Volunteers were hard at work clearing out piles of food that couldn’t be saved. Outside, crews worked around the clock serving up hot meals. Many came from all over the country after seeing the storm’s devastation on air and online.
“We were outside, cooking, grilling, and cooking the foods,” Ortiz said. “We did like 300, then 500. Then we …