Hurricane Irma may be a distant memory if you have no connection to Florida, specifically to Key West and the Florida Keys. But along iconic Rt. 1, from Key Largo to Key West, the aftermath of Irma’s destruction in early September is clearly present. Take any avenue off the main Keys highway, especially on the Atlantic side, and you’ll be faced with mountains of mattresses, plywood, tires, insulation, boat hulls, broken glass, dive flags, rusted metal, ovens, chairs—stuff that, pre-Irma, made one man’s house a home now looks like the aftermath of a terrible war. Red tagged notices adorn condemned homes slated for demolition. Federal agencies estimate that 25% of homes were destroyed and 65% suffered major damage.

Much of the lower Keys residents are the worker bees for the tourist/fishing industry. Rugged souls trying to reestablish their previous lives, explains one resident.

“We’re the people that are serving you your coffee in the restaurants. And we’re the ones building your sheds. And we’re the low-income housing. We’re the people that do the work for the rich people, you could say. So there’s no need to take it away. We just need to rebuild.”

Read here the remarkable achievement of one Keys woman. Margit Bisztray, long-time friend and founder of the Key West Insider, along with a group of her friends and volunteers, is easing the misery of Keys residents by bringing them a taste of normalcy one meal at a time.

Below is a video of Margit and her fellow volunteers showing how they deliver “a moment of humanity” to recovering Keys residents.

How to Help

Nourishing the Lower Keys

https://www.gofundme.com/nourishFLkeys

To contact Margit Bisztray: margit@keywestinsiderguide.com

Read more here.

A taste of normalcy to those recovering from Irma in the Florida Keys

Key West women make and deliver home-cooked meals after Irma.