Local businesses transporting life-saving supplies to Florida, North Carolina

BALTIMORE — Businesses in Baltimore and Harford County are doing everything they can to help out victims of Hurricane Helene and Milton even from hundreds of miles away. 

More than a million Floridians are without power as they continue to clean up debris left behind by Hurricane Milton. Meanwhile, people in parts of North Carolina are still grappling with entire neighborhoods being decimated by Hurricane Helene.   

Things we sometimes take for granted such as clean drinking water, blankets, pantry items, and lights are things people in Western North Carolina never expected to lose when floodwaters from Hurricane Helene ravaged their communities. 

“The area of North Carolina, they didn’t evacuate, there was no plan in place for a hurricane…so the need there is probably going to be there for a long time, and we don’t want to forget about these people,” Erin Schlichting, Co-owner of Clean Cuisine said. 

Last week, the owners of Clean Cuisine in Owings Mills coordinated with Gourmet Girls in Pikesville to collect survival items for hurricane victims in North Carolina. 

They said as soon as they posted the flier, donations started stacking up. 

“People brought in generators and clothing and it’s just amazing,” Gerry Schlichting, Owner of Clean Cuisine said. “Pet food and diapers and car seats,” Erin said.  

Gerry informed WJZ that the restaurant already has enough to fill up a truck to send down to North Carolina this week. 

“They’re actually loading up a truck on Monday to take it down and then they’re coming back on Tuesday or Wednesday to load up another one,” he said. 

In Abingdon, Box Hill Pizzeria will start collecting essential items to fill their large box truck on Monday. The truck will go down to Florida, bringing much-needed supplies to families impacted by Hurricane Milton. 

“Just because it’s not a local community that needs help, it’s an extended community and I just wanted to be there to help people,” Nico Kanaras, a partner of Box Hill Pizzeria said. 

Box Hill is also donating 10% of sales to hurricane relief efforts.