In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, cities like Jacksonville and Charleston were fortunate—the storm wasn’t as bad as feared, and most people were able to sweep up and go about their business. Eastern North Carolina is still reeling, though. After days of historic flooding, homeowners and small business people are facing millions of dollars in damage.

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Kornerstone Bistro is teaming up with Chef Vivian Howard and restaurants all across the southeastern United States to raise money for eastern North Carolina hurricane relief.  “It’s been devastating for this community,” says Vivian Howard of Chef and the Farmer in Kinston and the PBS show A Chef’s Life. Deflated by the collapse of the local tobacco and textile industries, the region had just begun to find its footing again. “We’re already so challenged economically. Then something like this happens.” She has a recovery plan, though, and it starts with fish stew—a simmering pot of fish, potatoes, onions, and eggs that’s a go-to fundraiser food for local churches and fire departments.

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Last week Howard e-mailed food-world friends like Sam Jones of Skylight Inn in Ayden, Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner in Raleigh and John Currence of City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, to ask if they’d join her in serving fish stew at their restaurants from October 30 to November 5—and donating the proceeds to the United Way in hard-hit Lenoir and Greene Counties. “I want to raise money and awareness,” Howard says. “Fish stew tells a story of our place in the world, and our resourcefulness, and our hospitality.”

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To help, you can make a donation directly at vivianhoward.com or sit down at Kornerstone Bistro from now until Novemeber 5th and order a bowl of Zuppa di Pesce.