Open Hand needs helping hands after I-85 disaster

Meal-delivery service is near collapse site, has need for more drivers.

Open Hand Atlanta, which prepares, packages and delivers more than 5,000 meals daily to residents who are ill, elderly or otherwise in need, needs a helping hand of its own following the I-85 bridge disaster. The nonprofit is located a rock’s throw from where a portion of I-85 collapsed last week following a massive fire, and as a result, the need for more volunteers will be ongoing.

“We are going to have a lot of challenges moving forward,” Director of Volunteer Services Kari Morrison said during an interview. “Our biggest challenge is going to be drivers. We’re going to need a lot more.”

In the days following the traffic calamity, drivers from the Zifty food delivery service and a fleet of volunteers from SunTrust and Buckhead Church have pitched in to help. Alpharetta-based Cowabunga, which includes more than 100 Domino’s Pizza locations in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, delivered a stack of pizzas to keep all the volunteers nourished.

“We are amazed and so grateful for the extraordinary response we have received from Atlanta community members and agencies in the wake of last night’s fire and bridge collapse,” the organization said in a social media post Friday.

Open Hand delivers meals on 57 routes, all around metro Atlanta. Because traffic’s expected to be

snarled for who knows how long, organizers fear drivers either could have trouble making it in or will not be able to get to as many clients as usual during their shifts.

It takes about a day to certify a new driver, who must show a current driver’s license and proof of insurance. Open Hand runs motor vehicle background checks on potential new volunteer drivers at a cost of $15 each.

On Thursday evening, right about the time fire was engulfing the portion of I-85 that later collapsed, Open Hand was hosting a charity function. A volunteer who lives 4 miles away later told Morrison it took her an hour and a half to get home.

“My life for the next month is going to be very interesting,” Morrison said. “We’ll all pull together and get through this.”