UNC’s basketball team made its threes. Now Mama Dip’s is feeding hundreds in need.
As chaos unfolded at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. this week, Mama Dip’s co-owner Spring Council didn’t have time to feel any sort of way.
She had mouths to feed.
With takeout boxes filled with fried and barbecued chicken, sweet potatoes, corn and okra, chocolate and carrot cake, Council and others from famed Southern restaurant Mama Dip’s Kitchen handed out free meals to those who needed them.
The meals were part of a community food drive that began in November. As the UNC-Chapel Hill men’s basketball team competed in this year’s Maui Invitational, tournament sponsor Camping World donated $3,000 for every made 3-pointer to the feeding initiative “Plating Change.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Maui Invitational was played in sunny Asheville.
The team made 12 threes in three tournament games, settling for runner-up status in the tournament after losing by 2 points to the University of Texas.
Mama Dip’s culinary legacy
Mama Dip’s Kitchen was opened by the late Mildred “Mama Dip” Council, a towering and beloved figure in Southern cooking who died in 2018 at the age of 89. Her children continue to run the restaurant on Rosemary Street.
Spring Council said UNC coach Roy Williams tapped Mama Dip’s and Sutton’s Drug Store to receive the donated Maui Invitational money and distribute community meals.
“We were fortunate to be picked and help our community,” Spring Council said. “We don’t turn anyone away, anyone who needs a meal, but we’re trying to reach people who might have had a hard time during COVID-19.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Council and others served 125 grab-and-go meals at Hargraves Community Center in Chapel Hill. On Thursday they served a similar number, and on Friday delivered meals to the Inter-Faith Council Community House, a men’s shelter in Chapel Hill.
Council learned of Wednesday’s violence in D.C., where a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol, about five minutes before she started handing out meals. She said she had to put it out of her mind.
“It wasn’t even a thought,” Council said. “My focus was on people coming for our meals.”
‘Think about the other person’
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has touched everyone, Council said, Mama Dip’s included. The restaurant has looked to holiday and event meals to stay afloat, as everyday sales have suffered.
In the summer, Mama Dip’s porch was popular, and picnic tables were moved out into the yard to expand outdoor seating, but the year was difficult, Council said.
“People are really struggling and suffering through this,” Council said. “We are too, but you have to think about the other person. Mama always told us to hang in there and everything will be OK.”
More than two decades ago, Mama Dip co-founded Chapel Hill’s Community Dinner, an annual charity meal aimed at bringing hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds together around a plate of food. Council said her mother instilled in the family to never give up in hard times.
“Keep moving forward and we’ll work to find a way out of this,” Council said of the challenges of the pandemic. “We’re happy to be part of this and have an opportunity to give back.”
UNC’s fundraising threes
These players hit UNC’s three-pointers during the Maui Invitational, with each adding $3,000 to the feeding initiative “Plating Change.”
▪ R.J. Davis: 5
▪ Caleb Love: 2
▪ Andrew Platek: 2
▪ Kerwin Walton: 2
▪ Leaky Black: 1
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 4:56 PM with the headline "UNC’s basketball team made its threes. Now Mama Dip’s is feeding hundreds in need.."
