FORT WHITE — A steady stream of vehicles ventured to and from the Fort White Community Center on Monday as U.S. Army National Guard troops and county staff provided food, water, ice and other supplies for more than 1,000 people.
The facility began serving residents just after 6 a.m. and by 1 p.m. had served more than 600 people. Before the shift of workers and National Guard helpers changed at 6 p.m., another 473 people were served.
The amount of people needing services was so large that several times the shelter temporarily ran out of supplies and was reduced to rationing what was provided to visitors. Those were given bags of ice, two MREs and two bottles of water per person.
The commodities were handed out by four National Guard soldiers and county employees serving as shelter support staff.
While the line averaged roughly seven vehicles for most of the day, there were times when as many as 15-20 vehicles were in line awaiting the crucial supplies.
The shelter also attracted more people around lunch time when the Red Cross provided 250 hot meals — hamburgers and hot dogs — for lunch.
Although people were being served through a “to go” line, the facility also housed at least two occupants who continued to utilize the building as a shelter.
Around 6:30 p.m. the American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) returned with three workers and hot meals for dinner.
The food, Shepard’s Pie and bread, was prepared by Big D’s Barbecue in Tallahassee. One of the Red Cross workers noted that the ERV delivered the hot meals for lunch, immediately turned around to return to Tallahassee where it collected the dinners and brought them back to Fort White.
Red Cross workers said there were five ERVs serving food throughout the area.