Oklahomans Feed Hot Meals To Rescue Workers In Kentucky

Green Country Volunteers with the non-profit Mercy Chefs are in Mayfield, Kentucky right now- feeding hot meals to rescue workers and storm survivors. 

"You can see around me; the damage here is pretty unbelievable," said Chef Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs Founder and CEO. 

"You can't wrap your mind around this, I don't care how many pictures you look at. Until you get in a car, and you drive and drive and drive and drive and you are still seeing it- you can't wrap your mind around the scope of how big it is," said Chef Lisa Saylor with Mercy Chefs. 

Left in the wake of the Mayfield tornado are buildings leveled to the ground, slabs of the foundation where homes and businesses used to flourish, loss of life, more than 100 people still missing.

"Wow. The damage here is unbelievable," said Saylor. 

"It is going to be a long haul. We are going to be here for quite a while," said LeBlanc. 

The non-profit Mercy Chefs has feet on the ground in Mayfield now. They were in Tennesse serving meals, the night before the tornado hit Kentucky because of that- they were one of the first aid groups on the scene with hot meals Saturday morning.

"We will reach as many people as we can," said LeBlanc. 

Power is out, stores are closed, people who have money for food can't go anywhere locally to pick ingredients up Mercy Chefs is not just a comfort for storm survivors right now, it is a necessity. Not to mention, getting enough food to cook for rescue crews and storm survivors is already challenging because of food distribution disturbances due to the pandemic.

"The food costs per plate for us has increased substantially," said Saylor, "Monetary donations are the biggest asset to us right now to keep us out here."

Families in Mayfield are going through this unthinkable, right before the holidays, and while we might not all be able to have our feet on the ground serving meals, we can help make sure, those meals keep coming.

"Mercy Chefs is here to help- to bring a little compassion, a little hope, in the midst of horrible times," said LeBlanc. 

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