Monday P.M.

The demand for disaster meals in Chattanooga has only increased. In fact, we just received a new request for Mercy Chefs to help families left homeless by the tornado in a new way. Go here to make your tax-deductible gift to help tornado victims today, and see below for my full report. --Gary

Every day the need seems to grow along with the opportunities to serve the tornado victims in Chattanooga.

For example, so many homes in East Chattanooga have been destroyed that many families are now being put up in hotels in the area. Because we were providing many of them high-quality meals every day, the families in the hotels started specifically requesting Mercy Chefs meals!

So as of today, Mercy Chefs is providing meals directly to disaster victims who are spread out in seven area hotels. These families often have five or six to a room, and getting our hot meals is a high point of their day. Also, a full week after the tornado struck, our teams are still finding communities that have not yet been reached. It happened again yesterday as we brought meals to a neighborhood that, from what we could tell, had not received any relief meals. 

That means there is no shortage of need! With our team still finding new neighborhoods and having just added meals for victims in seven hotels, I fully expect we will continue to serve 4,000+ meals every day this week! 

This week will be an enormous challenge JUST TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEED. Can I count on your help as we serve 4,000 meals today, tomorrow and throughout this week to tornado victims in Chattanooga while we continue other vital efforts? Go here to make your tax-deductible gift:

+ + The impact your support is having is unbelievable

Our team prays over each and every meal, and God is doing great things! Our church partners are delivering the meals and spending time with these beleaguered families, praying with them and building life-changing connections. Families break down and weep with gratitude. We are also seeing salvations! And our partner church is energized as 75-100 volunteers reach out every day to their neighbors, planting seeds of hope with each meal served.

What is most amazing is that this is happening while our COVID-19 response continues to grow. Last week, we fed nearly 30,000 people through this program. In the very depressed South Dallas region, people were lined up for miles to receive food. And we just got a request to add another 1,000 meals daily in Virginia. 

Through our disaster relief efforts in Chattanooga and our coronavirus response in 18 locations, Mercy Chefs will feed more than 10,000 people every day this week!

That's why your support is so critical. We simply cannot do this without your help. Plus, my phone keeps ringing with requests for more meals. But I can only reach as many as your support makes possible! Please go here to help.

Finally, PLEASE KEEP PRAYING -- especially for the tornado victims in Chattanooga. Right now, there is no end in sight to the need. The coronavirus situation has made returning to any semblance of normalcy even that much more difficult. These people need our prayers and support!

And thank you for continuing to pray for our Mercy Chefs team. Pray for wisdom and protection. And pray for God to bring His hope and His healing with every meal served.

Thank you and God bless you!

Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs

COVID RESPONSE UPDATE -- 30,000 meals last week. 1,000 more meals in Virginia daily this week. Go here for the latest photos and updates on our coronavirus crisis response.