Bowling and the Hurricane
Bowling Center Chain Puts New Food Truck to Use for Hurricane Victims & Responders
When Bowland decided to purchase a food truck, the seven-center chain of bowling centers in South Florida envisioned many ways it could be used. However, one of those definitely was not providing food and beverage relief for hurricane victims…but that’s just what happened.
Bowland’s NEMO Sports food truck arrived just two weeks before Hurricane Irma tore through the region. The company quickly realized that it could literally be a “vehicle” to help those in need.
“We have two bowling centers in Naples, which is where Irma made landfall,” said Mike Cannington, director of marketing and sales for Bowland Centers. “Our centers there were not operational due to the storm and we knew that many in the area were in need of food and water. It was an easy decision to get the food truck down there to help.”
Over the course of the first few days, NEMO Sports provided food and water to hundreds of hurricane victims and first responders. As power was restored to the Naples area, the truck moved on to the hard hit community Lehigh Acres. Now, Bowland is focused on taking care of the linemen who have come from across the country to assist in relief efforts.
“We were very fortunate that only three of our seven centers experienced damage and all are back up and running now,” added Mike. “We live and work in these communities and are proud we’ve been able to help those in need as they rebuild.”
Bowland purchased the food truck as an extension of its food and beverage service in its bowling centers. “Bowling is our core but we are extremely proud of the food we serve…we are not a stereotypical snack bar,” he said. “We expect the NEMO Sports food truck to become a staple at events throughout our communities moving forward.”
For more information on Bowland and its bowling centers in Fort Myers, Naples, Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral and Port Charlotte, visit www.bowlandcenters.com.