EVERETT — Everyone has ways of helping.
Debra Draper, 48, of Everett, knows how to cook for a crowd.
Two and a half years ago, she saw on Facebook that Snohomish County Volunteer Search &Rescue needed people to work on the food truck. That was in March 2014, when the truck was being deployed every day for the recovery effort after the Oso mudslide.
Draper already was making deliveries of plywood, chain saw oil and food to searchers. She had personal connections to two families who lost someone.
She contacted Search &Rescue that April 1. She mentioned her experience as a professional chef and that she’d also helped organize catered events. They told her she could start the next day. She cooked on the truck for a total of 21 days during the Oso mission.
She later became an official member of Search &Rescue. Now she’s part of a small team of volunteers who take turns driving the truck to dozens of missions a year. The team keeps the truck clean, organized and stocked.
They never know if they’ll be feeding five people or 175, she said.
They cook ahead and freeze batches of about 20 servings each, she said. The frozen portions — meatballs, pulled pork, breakfast burritos — are spruced up with fresh ingredients.
It’s a point of pride that so much is hearty and home-made: Only once has she served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Families of the missing often sit and talk with her during the long waits for information, and it’s always warm inside the truck from the oven. “I just try to give them some peace,” she said.
Before the mudslide, her volunteering was always through church, she said. She likes to joke that she’s done every job there at some point except give a sermon.
She also sings with a local choir, plays with a handbell group and gardens, and she cares for her grandchildren several times a week.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.
Help out
Snohomish County Volunteer Search &Rescue is seeking donations for a new food truck. The group also has other ongoing donation and volunteering needs. Volunteers with backcountry experience are welcome, but support roles are available, including cooking, mapping and computer work.
For more information, go to www.scvsar.org or call 425-388-3328. The website recently was redesigned, and anyone can sign up for the group’s newsletter, a new addition. An online fundraiser is at www.gofundme.com/help-us-replace-our-food-truck.
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