While most of our lives are returning to normal two weeks after Hurricane Matthew dumped over a foot of rain on Sampson and left felled trees, flooding and power outages across the county, there are many signs that it’s anything but life as usual here.
All it takes is a ride around parts of southern Sampson to know how true that is. Outside of Garland, large broken trees dot the landscape and the roadside is lined with mattresses, furniture, panel and wood framing, all remnants of homes — and lives — upended because of the storm. Similar sights can be seen across Sampson, a reminder that Matthew cut a hefty swath through our lives.
Forty-one roads remained closed, and many of those which are now open are in need of serious patching before they travel as well as they once did. And businesses across our area are trying to recoup losses they incurred because of forced closures, flooding and a lack of shoppers now focused on rebuilding rather than buying.
But nothing reminds us we are far from back to normal more than the throngs of people who waited in lines over the weekend to apply for disaster food assistance.
DSS director Sarah Bradshaw said in a Sampson Independent article Tuesday that roughly 1,400 people lined up at the Agri-Exposition Center on Saturday and about 1,100 more on Sunday. And there were long lines again at the start of Monday morning, numbers that tapered off later in the day.
The disaster food assistance was approved Friday for Sampson County, one of 18 counties that received the go-ahead from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer aid to those directly impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Sampson DSS began taking disaster food assistance program applications Saturday. Applications will continue to be taken from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through today.
The Disaster Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program is separate from the regular FNS program operated by the Sampson County DSS. Anyone already receiving regular food assistance benefits will not be allowed to apply for the disaster program. Instead, individuals already receiving such benefits will receive an automatic replacement to ensure a maximum allotment for the eligible household is received.
Long lines that formed Saturday and again Sunday and Monday are grim reminders of how many people are still hurting from the storm, and still in need of our help. Answered prayers have come in community outreach that, thankfully, is continuing, with churches, civic organizations, and individuals reaching out a helping hand in a variety of ways.
We pray that the help doesn’t wane and that those of us blessed enough to have recovered from the storm already will continue to remember those who’ve yet to get on their feet and help in any way they can. Knowing the giving hearts of Sampsonians, we have no doubt it will, and we are thankful.