Civic Engagement: Community Disaster Relief Wagon

Circus Maximus flew from Seattle with his partner Karissa to help out in NJ after Hurricane Sandy. Using skills that he already had as a caterer, he decided to create The U-HUNGRY Cafe to mobilize and distribute food to shore towns without electricity and whose cars had been totaled by the storm. Along the way he found a crew of like-minded volunteers who got a quick lesson on how to do catering from the back of a U-Haul truck. They listened to people's stories and helped to bring some levity and humor to the situation.

Circus started a pay-it-forward solidarity approach and eventually handed-off the reins and returned to his home in Seattle. The U-HUNGRY too Cafe volunteers continue providing aid, and are now in Oklahoma. They share common values and beliefs, "We are one human community and family with a responsibility to care of for each other."

Part of the Engaging People Series.