“There are so many places [damaged] and it’s so widespread,” said Southern Porch co-owner Nathan Lowe. “People have lost their homes, their businesses and their lives.”

Joining forces with the Grateful Table, a locally-sourced grocery store and restaurant a couple doors down on Main Street, Southern Porch is doing what it can to help its community in this moment of need. It’s the same protocol Southern Porch found itself implementing when Tropical Storm Fred slashed through Haywood County, ultimately devastating Canton, Cruso and Bethel in 2021.

“The community is so close here,” Lowe said. “Everybody in Canton just wants everybody else to make it, to succeed.”

At the Grateful Table, owner Jeanne Forrest is hard at work alongside numerous employees, volunteers and other local businesses, including The Lunchbox Café (also on Main Street) — all aiming to combine efforts and help folks out one hot-n-ready meal-to-go at a time.

“Southern Porch and the Lunchbox are doing their thing and we’re doing our thing,” Forrest said. “And whatever we have to push out [together] we’re just giving to people.”

Partnering with the World Central Kitchen — who are spearheading many efforts to provide food and supplies to those in need around greater Western North Carolina — Forrest estimates the Grateful Table is cranking out around 800 meals per day.

“We’ve put out a couple thousand meals since Sunday,” Forrest said. “The goal is to produce more and more.”

Forrest noted that the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit started by renowned Executive Chef José Andrés, “mobilizes food operations across the world — anywhere there’s a disaster.”

“[WCK] know what they're doing and they hit the ground running and start producing large volumes of meals,” Forrest said. “So, to be able to work with an organization like that, who has the resources, is just incredible.”

Over at the Southern Porch, Lowe and his crew are hard at work, the clock ticking fast to meet demand. A few days ago, Lowe received a random phone call from an unknown number. It was the House of Raeford Farms, a largescale chicken operation based in Greenville, South Carolina.

“They reached out and said, ‘Hey, can you use some chicken?’ I said yes,” Lowe said. “And they sent us four massive cases of chicken. I mean, it was on dry ice and easily the biggest shipment of anything that I’ve ever seen.”

Of note, the Southern Porch is also currently open to adhere to its regular customers, with hours being noon to 7 p.m. for now. And even with endless days and nights cooking and packaging meals, many onsite at the restaurant are still dealing with power and water issues at their own homes, including Lowe himself.

“We’ve had power at the restaurant since Friday night, but I still don’t have power at home,” Lowe said. “But, we’re okay.”