By Bill Murray | May 6, 2020 at 4:48 PM EDT – Updated May 6 at 4:48 PM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Stop by “The Chef and the Frog” restaurant, in Whiteville and you’re in for an experience. The atmosphere, the menu, it’s a French/Asian dining destination that’s one of the most exclusive in Columbus County. But the restaurant is currently closed because of COVID-19. Today, the kitchen is up and running because the meals are being pumped out of here are free.
“Columbus County is really suffering from this Covid crisis“ says owner Guillaume Slama. “Many have not been able to qualify for aid, some need help because they don’t know how to do it or the phone lines are so busy no one can get through.”
Guillaume is now offering curbside pickup, at noon, on Wednesday, for the next four weeks; it’s first come, first served, for a boxed, cooked meal that feeds up to four.
“What started as a small project to feed maybe 100 people turned into 1000 within just a week “says Slama. This is not an exercise in cleaning out the refrigerators. The food, provided, comes from donations through Planning with the Columbus Jobs Foundation, The Chef and the Frog , Sysco Foods and anonymous donors.
“I’m just so grateful” says Kim Williams, of Bolton, who’s waited two hours for a platter of pulled pork. “It’s just been so hard, I’m so anxious and depressed. I’m just looking for a little bit of hope.”
Whiteville knows what it’s like stare back at the face of adversary. It knows what it’s like to take blows from powerful hurricanes that tried to cripple downtown. But it’s a town that works hard to survive. A town with business owners who believe in this slice of small town America and all that it has to offer.
“I think the moral of the story is simple” says Slama. “When the going gets tough, people just pull together.” “
Two hundred meals will be given away for the next four Wednesdays at The Chef and the Frog in downtown. The curbside pickup dates include May 13th, 20th, 27th and June 3rd. That’s 200 meals, each Wednesday.
If you’d like to support this mission to help feed those having a tough time, in Columbus County, you can donate to the Columbus Jobs Foundation,
111 Washington Street, Whiteville, NC. 28472. (910) 640-6608
To check out the “Chef and the Frog” once North Carolina gets the green light to reopen. Click here.
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