by Wesley Harris
Hundreds of motorists and truckers found themselves stranded in Ruston following the onslaught of Ice Storm Fern that brought traffic on Interstate 20 to a standstill for hours. At one point, traffic on westbound I-20 was stalled for 60 miles from west of Arcadia in Bienville Parish to Monroe in Ouachita Parish.
Not just stuck for a few hours, but over 24 hours for many travelers caught in the jam behind big rigs that were unable to negotiate the area’s hilly terrain. When the 18-wheelers blocked all westbound lanes on I-20, over a day of gridlock followed.
The community responded accordingly, with area restaurants, groceries, and others with the capability to provide large quantities of food teamed up with local citizens to get those motorists fed.
Chick-fil-A of Ruston saw the need and developed a plan to feed scores of motorists. It was more than cooking up a batch of delicious chicken. The operation entailed dozens of volunteers who donated time and supplies as well as bringing in all-terrain vehicles that could navigate the ice to reach those in need.
Kitchen team members prepared more than 300 Chick-fil-A Sandwiches and 400 boxes of Chick-fil-A 8-count Chicken Nuggets, according to Ruston Chick-fil-A operator Jeremy Telford.
The community was asked through social media to pitch in and donate snacks, fruit, bottled water, and sports drinks to add to the meals.
Unsure how the operation would turn out, Telford wrote on Facebook, “To be honest, I have no idea how it’s going to work out. “
But Telford is pleased with the results.
“Our community came together quickly and donated cases upon cases of bottled water and sports drinks, along with tons of donated snacks and fruit,” Telford said. Volunteers “showed up big time for lots of stranded travelers.”
“More than just chicken—it’s community!” Telford said in a Facebook post after the operation. “It’s simply kind people in our small, Southern town helping others in their most desperate situations and times of need.”
But Telford doesn’t want any credit for doing what needed to be done.
“Neither I nor Chick-fil-A want any recognition for what took place,” he told the Lincoln Parish Journal. “I simply saw a need, had an idea, presented that idea to our Chick-fil-A Ruston Senior Director of Operations, Doug Gibbons, brought our willing and available Chick-fil-A Team Members in on the idea, made a Facebook post about what we would need from the community, and this community showed up big time.
“All glory to the Lord for providing me with the resources to be able to do this, and all credit for the implementation of the plan to Doug, our incredible Chick-fil-A Ruston Team Members, the folks who showed up in droves delivering water, snacks, and other food,” he said.
Telford also acknowledged the volunteer community members who helped inside the restaurant organizing the food and those on all-terrain vehicles who delivered the food to the stalled motorists.
“Reports from the teams that delivered food down the interstate are that everyone was extremely grateful for your love and generosity,” Telford told social media users.
“Some of the travelers were teary eyed. Some asked for pictures with the guys on ATVs, and some of our ATV guys teared up themselves as they helped meet a most basic need of their new friends.”
Many travelers receiving food reported they had been stranded for over 24 hours without moving, and many had not eaten for hours.
“The incredible team of volunteers who showed up in Jeeps, ATVs, and other 4WD vehicles were angels to the folks they delivered to. Putting it mildly, we couldn’t have done any of this without them,” Telford said.
Telford thanked team members who prepared the food and “incredible community volunteers who showed up, and showed out, to help us with an assembly line to get all of the food packaged and ready to be delivered.”
Chick-fil-A was not alone in lending a helping hand during the days following Ice Storm Fern.
Karl Malone Toyota served over 140 meals Tuesday, feeding first responders and anyone else who walked in. Dealership employee and well-known local chef extraordinaire Rusty Wilfong and his son, Kyle, cooked up batches of jambalaya and chili in the service bay of the Ruston car dealer and fed all comers.
“We just wanted to give back,” said Wilfong. “We live in a community that tat is what we do. People do whatever they can to help other people out. That’s what we are supposed to do … help each other. We have the equipment and know how to make a lot of food and the manpower to do it. We wound up serving a lot of people who saw it on our Facebook page. People who were stranded.
“We have a tremendous respect for the first responders who were handling the tough work for days. It was the least we could do to help. Although Karl was out of town, he called numerous times throughout the day to check on how things were going. He was adamant that we do what we could do to help.”
PJ’s Coffee served 15 gallons of “hot caffeinated happiness” to five miles worth of stranded motorists on I-20 Tuesday, “one cup and one car at a time,” according to a social media post. PJ’s said, “Thank you, Ruston! Your continued support is what allows us to do things like this.”
When Christy Sorensen, the general manager of Newk’s in Ruston, said they prepared over 1,000 boxed meals for utility workers while they labored to restore power in the area.
“We don’t do it for the recognition, we do it because we can,” said Sorensen. “It’s our way of giving back.”
Mayor Ronny Walker cited some local businesses who helped out in feeding first responders and city utility workers in the early days of the recovery effort.
“Moose Garriga of Log Cabin and Ponchatoula’s, Heath Hightower of Sundown Tavern, and Super 1 Foods were great in helping us out with food for our city workers and contract crews,” said Walker. “We’re very fortunate to have such great people in Ruston.”
In naming names who helped out, someone always gets left out, so to the businesses who avoiding ringing up sales to join the charitable effort, the community and the travelers thank you.
Countless individuals independently took it upon themselves to aid travelers, check on neighbors, pull strangers out of ditches, deliver food and firewood, and perform other acts of kindness you expect in a community like Ruston.
