Emergency Response to Noto Peninsula Earthquake

More than three weeks have passed after the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The emergency support team of AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) continues to provide soup kitchens in cooperation with other organizations amid the severe cold weather in the affected areas. Since last week, the team has been serving hot meals to the affected residents at a soup kitchen in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, using fresh vegetables donated by Mabuchi Farm in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

“I’m so happy!” “It warms me up in this coldness.” “I used to cook and eat them with my family.” These were some of the words uttered by those who received the local dish “Tori-Yasai Miso” at the evacuation shelter set up at the Fureai Health Center in Wajima City. This warm and nutritious one-pot dish of chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, and other ingredients is a familiar taste. The participants showed their relieved faces for a moment after the prolonged inconvenience of the evacuation.

Many of the vegetables, including Japanese radishes, turnips, komatsuna(similar to spinach), and sweet potatoes, were donated by Mabuchi Farm and FARM KTT, which grow 60 to 70 varieties of vegetables and fruits annually without pesticides or fertilizers, for use in the soup kitchen for the disaster victims. AAR, in cooperation with other relief teams from Higashi Honganji Temple, Kazekumi Kanto, and other organizations, has been providing soup kitchens at evacuation centers in Wajima City, Suzu City, and Noto Town since immediately after the earthquake, and has delivered more than 13,000 meals so far.

Sayaka Komatsu of Mabuchi Farm said, “Farmers sometimes harvest more vegetables than they can sell during the peak season, and we would be more than happy if our fresh vegetables could be of help in the affected areas. We hope that other farmers will learn from our way of helping,” she said, adding that she is expanding circle of support by calling on farmers to donate money for transportation and other costs associated with providing vegetables. This week, a total of more than 100 kilograms of vegetables and fruits, including Japanese radishes, taro, potatoes, pumpkins, and mandarin oranges, have been delivered to collection points in the affected areas.

AAR has been working with many companies and organizations to support the disaster victims, and we have received many offers like “We want to do something for the people affected by the disaster using our core business” and “We want to help with the transportation of supplies.” There is little we can do in the devastated areas but with the help of those companies, organizations, and individuals who are willing to give of themselves we can deliver the support needed in the affected areas.

We would like to ask for your further cooperation in AAR’s support for the Noto Peninsula earthquake relief efforts.

Links:

• AAR English website

In Ishikawa Prefecture alone, about 15,000 people are still forced to live in evacuation centers in the bitter cold after the Noto Peninsula earthquake. AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan)’s emergency support team has continued to serve meals at evacuation centers in the prefecture in cooperation with other organizations, and has delivered approximately 12,000 hot meals since the earthquake occurred.

“Warm kitsune udon is delicious,” “It’s going to be cold again tonight, so I’m grateful for the pork miso soup.” Since January 3, AAR, together with its partner NPO Peace Project (Representative: Ben Kato, AAR Director), has been serving food at the evacuation center of Wakayama Elementary School in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, where biting cold continues every day. 100 servings of kitsune udon noodles were served at noon on January 16, and 130 servings of pork miso soup and rice were served in the evening. The soup kitchen is located in Suzu City.

The soup kitchen continues to visit evacuation centers in Wajima City and Noto Town, which were particularly hard hit by the disaster, as well as in Suzu City. Sometimes we are not able to serve for 3 or 4 days due to procurement of ingredients, but when we revisit evacuation center to cook, we are often greeted with comments such as, “Wow, you are here again! What’s on the menu?” We are greeted one by one by the affected residents, “We haven’t been able to eat hot meals while you were gone.”

Water is still cut off in many areas of the disaster-stricken area, and the stress of evacuees seems to be increasing day by day at evacuation centers, where sanitary measures and privacy are difficult to maintain. AAR’s soup kitchen is designed to provide a balanced nutritional diet with vegetables and meat, as well as a relaxing time for the evacuees, and on the 18th, we served a local dish called “Tori-Yasai Miso.

These efforts are being carried out with the cooperation of many companies and organizations. Cooking and distribution of food in the disaster-stricken area is continuously conducted in cooperation with Higashi Honganji Temple (Kyoto City), NPOs BOND&JUSTICE and Kazagumi Kanto (both in Tokyo). Mabuchi Farm of Shizuoka Prefecture and FARM KTT have donated fresh vegetables and fruits, and NPO Second Harvest Japan (Tokyo) has provided approximately 1,500 disposable dishes. In addition, HARTIN, a general incorporated association, is assisting us in transporting foodstuffs to the shelters. We would like to thank everyone for their cooperation.

AAR will continue the relief activities such as soup kitchen, etc. We would like to ask for your cooperation in AAR’s emergency support for the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

We are not accepting donations from individuals due to delivery arrangements.

Links:

• AAR English website