Wednesday Afternoon:

Ann and I are in New Orleans as Hurricane Zeta rapidly approaches the Louisiana coast. Storm forecasters are now predicting that Zeta will be a CATEGORY TWO storm by the time it makes landfall, perhaps right here in New Orleans. 

If New Orleans takes a direct hit, the primary concern will be the storm surge and whether the levees will hold, given the massive amount of work that has taken place in the aftermath of Katrina. Because of what happened with Katrina, there is GREAT APPREHENSION right now here in coastal Louisiana. Everything depends on the specific track of the storm, how much rain falls, and if the pumping stations get overwhelmed. A voluntary evacuation of some areas has already been implemented. We are also watching closely the Mississippi coastal communities of Waveland to Gulfport which are just east of New Orleans and could take the brunt of the storm.

We are expecting widespread power outages from New Orleans through Montgomery (AL) and possibly all the way to Atlanta (GA). Some of our friends who have already been hit hard this year could see storm surges of 6-9 feet.

+ + 2020 won't quit...

2020 simply won't quit, and neither will Mercy Chefs. We have equipment and personnel ready to move as needed. Ann and I came here ahead of the storm so we could assess the need and rapidly mobilize resources.

As always, we can use your help. This has been a very challenging year. We just finished another major deployment in the aftermath of Hurricane Delta -- the sixth major storm deployment since just this summer. On top of this, we've provided MILLIONS of meals to those impacted by the pandemic shutdown. Go here to make a tax-deductible gift to Mercy Chefs as we prepare for Hurricane Zeta and continue other vital efforts to help hurting people.

I will update you as soon as we have information on the storm's impact and our response. 

Thank you and God bless you!

Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs