Cedar Rapids Iowa- Disaster Outreach

Katrina survivor, and Ruby Slippers Cookbook author, Amy Cyrex Sins led a group of volunteers on a relief mission to Cedar Rapids, Iowa August 1-3, 2008. The group, who call themselves New Orleans Cooks, were on a mission to make life more bearable for the people of Cedar Rapids. They accomplished that through a warm smile, and a comforting meal. Volunteers from New Orleans Cooks exceeded their goal and served 1700 meals during their time in the flood-ravaged area.



Group leader Amy Cyrex Sins said, “We wanted to provide Cedar Rapids and Palo residents an opportunity to take a break from the stresses of life dealing with the aftermath of flooding. Our goal was to heal with food, fun and to provide a little bit of advice and encouragement from people who understand the challenges of dealing with flooding.”



New Orleans Cooks created a resource center in the Knights of Columbus Hall in Cedar Rapids complete with hot meals, kids art projects, FEMA representatives and mental health outreach. Residents were able to sit back, relax and escape the stresses of post flood life while enjoying a Louisiana meal and listening to live Jazz music.



Over 100 meals were hand delivered by New Orleans Cooks volunteers in Cedar Rapids neighborhoods while 400 meals were served in the town of Palo. Over 1500 lbs of food was driven in from New Orleans and over 56 cases of food and supplies were shipped directly to Cedar Rapids.



During the three days, the group served, cooked and distributed:



150 lbs of Blue Runner Red Beans

600 lbs of Rice

200 lbs of Jambalaya Base

200 lbs of Etoufee Base

13 Rum Cakes

25 bags of Salad

1 gallon Galatoire’s Creole Vinaigrette (we could have served 4 we had it)

1000 prepackaged snacks

1000 cookies, pastries, brownies etc.

300 servings of Cool Brew iced coffee

400 bags of Zapps Potato Chips

15 blocks Velveeta Cheese

6 cases of Canned Carrots

2 cases of Canned Green Beans

100 lbs of Smoked Sausage

25 lbs of Grits

40 lbs of Trail Mix

10 lbs of Butter

6 lbs of Louisiana crawfish (to area volunteers)

500 hot dogs

50 loaves of Leidenheimer French Bread

125 Boxes of Aqua2Go

500 individual Tabasco Sauces

12 Boxes of Magic Seasoning Hot Sauce

12 Boxes of Magic Seasoning Creole Seasoning

3 cases of LA Fish Fry Hot Sauce

3 cases of LA Fish Fry Creole Seasoning

100 lbs Zatarains Jambalaya Mix

25 lbs of onions

50 lbs of Roast Beef and Gravy (we cold have served 200 if we had it)

500 + individual servings of milk and chocolate milk

1700 bottles of water

70 gallons lemonade

15 gallons of tea





For a complete list of Louisiana companies who assisted in this effort or schedule media interviews, please contact:



Amy Cyrex Sins

New Orleans Cooks-

About the donations:

Donations provided by: Kajun Kettle Foods, Sysco, Blue Runner Beans, Hubig Pies, Louisiana Fish Fry Company, Aquq2Go, Zatarains, Magic Seasoning, Whole Foods Market – Louisiana, Cool Brew Coffee, Tabasco Store-Riverwalk, Chicken Sue’s, Jams Poboys, Dorignacs, Old New Orleans Rum and home baked sweets from local families


About the Author:

International award winning author, Amy Cyrex Sins is a Loyola University of New Orleans graduate with a degree in communications. She is a cooking enthusiast who spends every free moment in the kitchen creating wonderful meals for friends and family. Amy was inspired to write her first cookbook after the events of Hurricane Katrina ravaged her home and her city. The one thing she lost that was missed most of all was her collection of handwritten recipes passed on from family and friends. Amy believes that her furniture and things are easily replaced, but handwritten recipes are something that are cherished but now lost forever.



Ruby Slippers Cookbook, one of the prestigious 2006 Gourmand World Cookbook Award winners, is turning heads nationally and internationally too! Press coverage includes the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, the Times-Picayune, and Epicurious.com. Titled Ruby Slippers Cookbook: Life, Culture, Family and Food After Katrina, the 232-page coffee table style volume is available for sale, enabling food lovers the opportunity to enjoy fabulous New Orleans and Louisiana Cajun and Creole style cuisine at home while also helping a good cause.