Local Restaurants Helping Australian Wildfire Relief Efforts With Fundraisers
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore chefs are teaming up to help out Australia as the brushfires rage on.
It's one of the worst wildfires Australia has seen in decades. Thousands of homes destroyed, 29 people killed and 40,000 square miles of land scorched.
Now, Baltimore is stepping in to help them recover. Ashish Alfred, Owner of Duck Duck Goose in Fells Point, says 100 percent of the restaurant's proceeds from Friday night went to Australian relief funds.
"Everybody has seen the news," Alfred said. "The burned up koalas, the burned up homes, a huge cloud of smoke that's hanging over Australia, and how the entire country is on fire. I think anybody with any kind of means would want to help them out a little bit."
In Pikesville, La Food Marketa says they're also showing their support. On Sunday, 50 percent of their proceeds from brunch will go toward the Australian Red Cross to help those whose homes have been destroyed by the flames.
"I think the nation as a whole is really watching what's happening, and we're just moved to do that," Dori Chait, Director of Guest Relations of La Food Marketa, said.
As the catastrophic brushfire burns down parts of the country, and the number of animals killed continues to rise, Alfred says helping out is what Baltimore needs to do.
"The truth is we can't afford to do it, but those people couldn't afford to lose their houses or their jobs," Alfred said. "They couldn't afford any of that, and if we don't do something, who will?"