Baltimore Food Truck Gathering To Benefit Sandy Victims

TOWSON, Md. (WJZ)—If you'd like to help the victims of Superstorm Sandy, you can on Saturday. Thanks to the operators of Baltimore's popular food trucks, a hurricane relief gathering is planned in Towson.

Ron Matz has more on where you'll find great food and entertainment and all for a good cause.

The Jersey Shore has been devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Lee Giroux's father and friends live there.

"My dad is in Bayville, New Jersey. I live here in Towson, but I am doing this for humanitarian reasons. We all need to chip in right now. The Red Cross and FEMA are overwhelmed, and we don't have the basic supplies for our families," Giroux said. "There's total devastation. We have 27 miles of the Jersey coast that have to have the gas lines completely re-done. The infrastructure is completely gone."

The Cruisin' Cafe is busy, preparing great food Saturday near the old courthouse in Towson.

"We have the beautiful old courthouse gardens here. We have 85 benches to sit in, and it's just wonderful," said Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce.

Baltimore's food trucks will hold a hurricane relief gathering, raising money and supplies for storm victims.

"We're going to have 15 of Baltimore's fabulous food trucks," said Damian Bohager, Maryland Mobile Food Vendors. "We've got 10-15 musicians to play live music. We'll have beer and wine. It's a full-fledged food and hurricane relief gathering.

"A friend of ours who does some work with the food trucks has an elderly father in New Jersey," Bohager said. "She's been back and forth since the hurricane. She told us how much they needed supplies, the bare essentials to live, blankets, diapers, baby food. And we thought we'd get the food trucks together and see if we can't get a crowd and get a bunch of items donated and send them on up there."

The victims need the basics.

"People need everyday supplies, everything from toothpaste and toothbrushes to blankets, mittens, hats, scarves. We need diapers. We need wipes and gloves for the EMS people," Giroux said.

Towson businesses are lending a hand.

"It shows that we just don't care about our local community, but we care about people in the whole United States," Hafford said. "Whenever any of our citizens have a problem, there's such a need to jump in and help out."

When the event is over, a convoy will leave Towson and take all the supplies to the Jersey Shore.

"We're going to have a large truck here," Bohager said. "We're going to load the truck either Saturday evening or Sunday morning and it's going straight to the people who need it."

Saturday's food truck Sandy relief effort in Towson will begin at 1 p.m.