Since World Central Kitchen (WCK) rolled into Wilmington in advance of Hurricane Florence, chef Christi Ferretti of Pine Valley Market has been on the scene, lending her expertise and helping to provide thousands of meals throughout the storm.

While power was restored to Pine Valley Market, 3520 S. College Road, late in the evening Sept. 16, the building did sustain some water damage and most of the food on-site had to be discarded. So while Ferretti and her co-owners, wife Kathy Webb-Ferretti and Paul Smith, could possibly have re-opened Sept. 18, they had to take into consideration whether they would be able to get deliveries from their suppliers, and, given that so many people were still evacuated, whether they would have any customers. While they were anxious to put their staff back to work, Ferretti said the last thing she wanted was for food to go to waste.
 
When she spoke with World Central Kitchen’s lead organizer, Jose Andres, about her concerns, he came up with an immediate solution: activate Pine Valley Market as a satellite kitchen for the existing operation at Diamond Food Enterprises off South College Road. WCK would provide all the food, and its lead chef Jason Collis would coordinate the logistics. By Tuesday, the satellite kitchen was up and running.
 
“Initially we felt we could handle preparing 200 to 300 servings per meal, but we quickly realized we could do more than that,” Christi Ferretti said. "Soon we were making 2,000 servings per meal, a total of 4,000 meals per day."
 
By Monday of this week, the satellite location began scaling back and Tuesday was their last day of operation. They will now shift gears back to re-opening the market with a limited menu and limited prepared foods.
 
“In light of there being so many people still in need, we’re going to be very mindful of not being wasteful,” Ferretti said. “This storm has impacted people of every socio-economic level and we understand that business will likely not be the same for a while. Every business owner will have to make decisions based upon what works best for them.”

Ferretti said she is proud to have been a part of WCK’s efforts in the Port City, but no one person could have gotten the job done; it was the work of hundreds of dedicated volunteers. She said she is grateful to her wife, Kathy, and son, Alex, as well as her staff led by Paul Smith and B.J. Lavierdiere, and volunteers such as Lottie Arnold of Live Oak Bank and Lori Eaton of Eaton at Home.
 
Though her work with WCK is coming to and end, Ferretti has established Port City Meals@PVM, a fund that will allow Pine Valley Market to continue to feed those in need throughout the community.
 
“The need for meals is going to continue for some time, and we want to continue to be a part providing food to those in need,” Ferretti said.
 
To make a contribution to Port City Meals@PVM, check out its Facebook page.  
 
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