Mercy Chefs

Mercy Chefs, a Portsmouth-based disaster relief nonprofit, has deployed mobile kitchens to Texas to provide meals for first responders and search-and-rescue teams following flash flooding. Two members of Mercy Chefs' local Texas team experienced floodwaters in their area.

Mercy Chefs is hosting weekly Summer Backpack Giveaway events every Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Hampton Roads, with a culminating free block party in Portsmouth in August. The program provides food-filled backpacks at specified locations.

Mercy Chefs is providing free chef-quality meals to Pueblo residents displaced by the Aspen Acres Fire. Meals are distributed at Fellowship of the Rockies, with lunch and dinner served daily, and the organization plans to stay for at least 10 days. Volunteers like Matthew Hernandez highlight the meals' importance amid the community's recovery.

Mercy Chefs is providing assistance to fire victims in southern Colorado, where a massive fire has been spreading for 11 days, destroying homes and causing mass evacuations. A local resident described the fire's intensity and heavy smoke.

Mercy Chefs, a faith-based nonprofit, has deployed to Venezuela to provide meals following 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes on June 24. The team, including volunteer Janette Alvarez and founder Gary LeBlanc, is working with five Christian churches to feed civilians and U.S. search-and-rescue teams. Satellite data estimates up to 58,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in northern Venezuela.

Nearly one year after deadly floods in central Texas that killed 139 people and displaced many, Mercy Chefs has been providing aid in Kerrville since the day after the disaster. The nonprofit continues its efforts under founder and CEO Gary LeBlanc.

Mercy Chefs, a local disaster relief non-profit, is providing meals to nearly 3,000 students in Hampton Roads through the Backpack Build as part of its Summer Feeding Initiative.