Free meals for Helene survivors have been a lifeline — but not everyone can eat them

When Patricia Sprinkle and her family lost power in the Buncombe County neighborhood of Enka-Candler due to Hurricane Helene, she faced an extra challenge when it came to getting food.

As someone with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which eating gluten damages the lining of the small intestine, Sprinkle’s diet centers on meats, fruits and gluten-free products. (She’s not a fan of vegetables.) But all of the meat and gluten-free goods were gone from her local store’s shelves.

“We finally found some bacon at the farmers market. So I’ve kind of been living off of bacon,” she said. And even though her power returned a few days later, there’s still no water, making cooking and baking a challenge.

“I honestly feel like I’ve lost about 10 pounds in the last 10 days,” Sprinkle said. A friend in Virginia also just sent her two boxes of gluten-free food from Wegmans. But she is still on the lookout for a nice hot meal that she can trust won’t make her sick.

According to the latest Duke Energy outage map on Tuesday, Oct. 8, over 100,000 people still lack power in the Carolinas following Hurricane Helene. As of last Thursday, 136,000 people in the Southeast didn’t have access to clean water, with 1.8 million under a boil advisory.

As a result, many people are still relying primarily on nonperishable items and donated meals. And for people like Sprinkle with dietary restrictions like celiac disease or diabetes, or even people who are vegan or keto for health or ethical reasons, many of those items are off limits.

For instance, a member of the Asheville Foodies Facebook group posted asking where a friend could find vegan and gluten-free options so that she could focus on helping with recovery efforts.

Commenters quickly suggested vegan and vegetarian restaurant Rosetta’s Kitchen in downtown Asheville, currently serving free meals from 12-4 p.m. daily. The Ayurvedic Institute and Plant have also teamed up to provide vegan meals this week, alternating sites.

In times like these, bakers like Hendersonville’s Diana Casteel, owner of Pies by Di who specializes in gluten free goods, are a lifeline. Casteel has severe celiac disease, her husband is diabetic and her daughter does not eat dairy. So she understands the importance of having food that doesn’t make you sick.

Since the storm, a number of Casteel’s customers have reached out for assistance. One woman wanted gluten-free goods for her daughter, a police officer.

“Her daughter’s been having headaches and, you know, stomach upset, and she just can’t really focus on the job,” Casteel said. “Everybody’s offering food, but when you have celiac disease, that’s a tough one.”

Casteel provided bread, as well as cornbread French toast and some apple cider donuts.

Other customers are in need of pantry staples like gluten-free pasta and soups, which Casteel has in stock because she buys in bulk. Getting supplies like almond, sunflower seed and chickpea flour is not a problem, she said, though she had to meet her assistant, who lives in Georgia, in Greenville to pick them up.

She also helped out India Aroma Bistro in Hendersonville, whose lunch buffet is primarily gluten free. After donating meals in the first week of the disaster, they have reopened for customers at new lower prices with free meals for first responders and people without power. But they had no to-go containers, so Casteel bought some for them from a restaurant depot in Charlotte.

Casteel’s next step is to search for a new kitchen, since the one she was using in Hendersonville has minor damage and no power.

Casteel needs a pristine kitchen to prevent cross-contamination, because people like her with severe celiac disease will react to even the smallest amount of grains and wheat. “You can’t just vacuum out the flour from the air,” she said. She has a potential lead in Bryson City, a kitchen that has not been in use for a while.

As for Sprinkle, she plans to take it day by day. She’s grateful for the Western North Carolina Farmers Market. “They’ve got everything down there,” she said.

In the meantime, her focus is on helping a family member who lost everything find housing, clothing and — yes — food. Food has such power. A hot meal made with love can nourish both our physical and emotional needs, while a dingy cup of broth or sad, saggy Jell-O can sink our spirits.

Earlier this week, another Asheville Foodie member posted asking where they could find a good burger and support a small business. People chimed in with recommendations, from Blue Sky Cafe in Fletcher, Waynesville’s Church Street Depot and Main Street Grill in Weaverville.

In normal times, satisfying such a simple craving isn’t so hard. But for people like Sprinkle and Casteel with dietary needs, the search for nourishing and safe comfort food can be far more challenging.

Especially as in the case of Casteel’s neighbor, when your birthday falls on the day a hurricane arrives. When Casteel heard about it, she knew she had to help. So she plugged her toaster oven in the generator and baked a birthday cake: three layers — two chocolate, one vanilla — with chocolate ganache. The neighbor was over the moon.

“Just to be able to have some bit of normalcy, you know, with everything going on, is a big thing,” Casteel said.

This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Free meals for Helene survivors have been a lifeline — but not everyone can eat them."

Sara Murphy

The Charlotte Observer

Sara Murphy is a freelance writer with bylines in The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and other outlets. A PhD in 17th century British literature, she also loves the mountains, her two black cats, Mochi and Mini, and K-pop.