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@digellabakes with hashtag #bakedrelief
I have hardly slept and only sat to drive from location to location and after a shower and a cup of tea I have sat for 10 mins in quiet contemplation about what has occurred in the past few days.
WOW! The support of bakers around Brisbane has been astounding. That is all I can say. My emotions are all over the place, I dont know how many times someone has made me cry in the past few days. Whether its an old lady who tells me "you have given me a purpose" or an SES worker responding to baked goods with "Really? You did this for us?" All the people out there who have baked... I APPLAUD YOU!
I have spoken with my Mum and boys and they are still isolated. No electricty (still) and no milk or basics. The boys ate steak for breakfast! Not sure when they will get out, but if the situation with food keeps up they will ask for a drop for sure. It seems our Stradbroke Island family holiday will not take place from Saturday as planned. But we will make that up later in the year for sure. So much pain in the Lockyer area and it just keeps getting worse. The Army are doing a great job now taking the hard work off the SES so they can grieve the loss of family and friends.
I have currently 178 emails in my inbox, 40 facebook and twitter messages and countless tweets.
If you would like to hear the podcast of the radio interview from yesterday click HERE (in the interview I had about 40 bakers, today I have had at least 100!)
We have moved to the second phase now. The clean up and support.
SES have basically shut up shop and are back down to the normal working crews.
Phase Two of Baked Relief
If you live near an affected area there will be people working hard to clean up. Make sure your treats are in bite sized, easy pieces. Take them down to the clean up zones with a bottle of hand sanitizer and offer around. Even cordial, a slab of softdrink or a bag of lollies will sure be welcomed.
Mel (a fellow blogger) suggested can you cook a double batch of lasagne or other wet dish, suitable for freezing to take to people who are looking after people who have been evacuated? Or neighbours who have been affected?
These people need to know we are all here thinking of them and supporting them. Some people just need someone to listen to their story. Give them a brownie and 10 minutes of your time.
These people are just friends we haven't met yet.
SES Stafford Sandbagging - Last night 11:30pm
SES Stafford 11pm last night (sandbags to the right)
A sobering thought. I took this photo in Grantham on Sunday afternoon 3pm
This is all gone now :(
You know your boys are going to be expecting steak for breakfast regularly now don't you?? Glad they are OK.
ReplyDeleteAnother idea - when you cook your dinner, make an extra serve or 2 that can be frozen to give to friends and others who have lost their homes. Or to give to people who are billeting others.
wow, that's amazing! Go Brizzy Bakers!
ReplyDeleteI am speechless, and heartened to hear so many wonderful, generous stories. What an amazing thing you have accomplished, I always said it only takes one person to stand up and take action for many to follow.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing one amazing job!!!! So sorry to hear about the church and very happy to hear your family are safe. ;-)
ReplyDeleteA big WELL DONE to you Digella. What a wonderful idea and a wonderful way to help. Rachaelxx
ReplyDeleteI just got back from delivering 40 sausages, bread, and sauce etc to SES and police workers around the place. They told me that there's going to be a huge demand for food to feed the hundreds, possibly thousands of volunteers over the weekend. Would probably be a good idea to call the SES HQ and ask where your baked goods etc would do the most good.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Lorrae for finding your site as a small idea to do a big thing. She kindly opened her kitchen up to Rebecca and I to bake and bake and bake yesterday. Rebecca is a wonderful cook (as is Lorrae) and we made fresh egg sandwiches, pigs in blankets, mini quiches and scones that were all very scrumptious!! Lorrae had also made muffins and mini quiches beforehand, so we had a car load. A kind lady Kelly and partner picked up our treats and delivered them to St Lucia. Totally taken aback by Woolworths Mayfair giving us some gourmet lettuce towards our grocery shop to help us out, it's that sharing and caring spirit that infects us all right now. Here's cheers to getting together and making a difference in our own way. Thanks for such a heart warming idea keep it rolling. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy name is Megan Drewery from the above comment dated 15/01/74 at 9.33am.
ReplyDeleteP.S Sorry my comment should have said, dated 16/01/11 not 15/01/74, that was the year I was born lol!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea about making food for the volunteers, but please be mindful of food safety. Please can you spread my message out, that we do not want to have another disaster on our hands - ie deaths because of food poisoning. This is serious stuff. Being a food safety expert, here are my tips:
ReplyDeleteWhen baking use gloves, sanitiser or wipes and wash hands regularly
Keep food covered at all times - deadly bacteria found in the air and soil can contaminate the food
Keep food chilled - below 5oC to slow down the bacterial growth
If serving hot food, it needs to be held over 60oC or pathogenic bacteria may start to grow
Store in ice in an esky
Keep it away from the sun,and off the ground
DON"T allow the workers to put their dirty hands into the clean food whilst serving, serve it with serviettes and gloves hands.
Use hand sanitiser, or wipes, or wash hands regularly while making the food.
Thanks for the food safety tips Mum!! You would have been proud of us in that regard :-)
ReplyDelete