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Mercy Chefs providing meals for Hurricane Helene victims
AccuWeather
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12/23/2024
Three months after Hurricane Helene, Mercy Chefs is in western North Carolina to provide additional relief including providing storm victims with hot meals during the holiday season.
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00:00
Three months now after Hurricane Helene forever changed the lives,
00:03
the need for help is still great, especially in Western North Carolina.
00:07
Yeah, and Mercy Chefs is continuing to provide outreach during the holidays.
00:12
Gary LeBlanc is founder and CEO of Mercy Chefs.
00:15
Thank you so much again, Gary, for joining us this morning
00:19
and taking some time out of what I know is probably a busy, busy week.
00:24
It's going to be a time for us, but we're glad to be with you.
00:27
Thanks for having us on.
00:29
Well, of course, last Thursday, Mercy Chefs held an event in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
00:34
What did you find there with kids and family in place?
00:38
We found so many people that are just grateful that they have been remembered,
00:43
that they haven't been forgotten. The children there at the school,
00:47
we were able to serve gifts that were made in Panama City, Florida,
00:52
by children that were affected by Michael six years ago.
00:55
Those kids wanted to do something special.
00:58
So they made Christmas for 530 children there in Black Mountain,
01:02
sent it up. We did some meals and some snacks for the kids.
01:06
And it's good to see them with their spirits high.
01:09
But many of them talked about living in hotels
01:13
and the difficulty that their parents were facing.
01:16
You know, children always wonder what goes through a child's mind in a disaster.
01:21
Their eyes are haunting.
01:23
Yeah, such a sad scene, but you know, a lot of those stories,
01:27
so beautiful and heartwarming to hear.
01:29
Mercy Chefs is still a presence in Western North Carolina.
01:33
Can you tell us more about how your teams are still distributing meals
01:37
and more? You mentioned that the need is still there.
01:41
It's absolutely still there.
01:43
Asheville has recovered pretty well after two months without potable water.
01:48
They were able to get that back working.
01:51
That was a huge step forward for them.
01:53
So we're seeing some life come back into Asheville.
01:57
But the surrounding communities are still struggling.
02:00
The folks up the riverbeds, up in the mountains,
02:04
they still have a very difficult road in front of them.
02:08
That's why Mercy Chefs, who's been on the ground every day
02:11
since the storm came in and has made a commitment to stay into the summer,
02:17
we're going to continue to stand with the folks there in Western North Carolina
02:21
and do everything we can to get them back to some sense of normalcy.
02:26
And into the new year, what are you planning for
02:29
with the greatest needs for these communities?
02:30
And also, how can people help?
02:33
Well, we're going to be working to do some community classes,
02:37
bring the communities into our kitchens, do some children baking schools.
02:43
But again, daily feeding between 1,000 and 4,000 meals.
02:47
Whatever need we find, we're going to continue to feed hot meals.
02:51
Right now, we're feeding the elder care facility
02:54
and the veterans that lost their entire facility.
02:57
We're making sure that they get beautiful chef-prepared meals every day.
03:02
Mercy Chefs is just, our hearts are broken
03:06
and turned toward the people there in Western North Carolina.
03:09
Anybody that wants to find out what we're doing can go to Mercy Chefs.
03:13
They can follow us in real time and they can partner with us.
03:17
It's going to be a long haul there in that area.
03:21
Yes, we are blessed to have people like you and your organization there on the ground.
03:27
Gary LeBlanc is founder and CEO of Mercy Chefs.
03:30
Thank you so much again for joining us this morning.
03:33
My pleasure. Merry Christmas.
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