Yesterday, we provided over 7,400 meals and we started serving 30 minutes early to keep the line of cars
from blocking nearby businesses. For both lunch and dinner, the line stretched to about a mile long. The folks here are hurting that bad.

+ + People living in their cars

Time and time again as vehicles pull up to Mercy Chefs, we see clear evidence that people are living in their cars. Their homes are not habitable so they pack all their belongings into their vehicles and sleep in their driveway in the car. To make it worse, many of the cars-turned-homes have obvious damage from the storm. It breaks my heart to see the hurt and pain. It's something beyond hopelessness.

I met a young culinary student who shared what's happened to his family. His aunt's home was flooded during Harvey and had serious damage during Laura. Then when Delta came through, her home was flooded again. They will have to completely gut the home once again. 

+ + More meals today

Today, we'll serve thousands of meals. The demand has been much higher level than I ever anticipated. The costs are mounting as well. Quite frankly, the grocery bills are staggering. Yet we know that with each meal, friends like you are helping Mercy Chefs to bring hope and encouragement in a tangible, practical way to these folks.

Could you help us meet this extraordinary need today through this weekend? Your gift today will help Mercy Chefs provide hot meals right now to those in serious need here in Lake Charles. Go here to make your tax-deductible gift:

+ + Highest quality meals

Our Mercy Chefs team has been working from 6AM to long after dark to prepare meals, and the quality has been amazing. Yesterday, for example, we started with a Mexican dish for lunch, moved to German and finished with Smoked Creole Chicken with red beans, rice, orange slices and a roll (pictured here, prepared by a visiting chef from the American Culinary Federation in New Orleans).

The quality and taste of the meals we've produced this week has been as good if not better than anything we've ever served in Mercy Chefs' history. The folks on the receiving end simply cannot believe we are serving such good food. Often, all they can do is weep.

Why do we go to so much trouble to make such meals of fine distinction? Because high-quality meals send a message of hope and caring. These storms are cruel. They can strip away your dignity. Thanks to you, we offer meals that help restore dignity and let disaster victims know that their lives matter and better days are ahead.

Finally, thank you so much for your prayers and support. Lake Charles has been hit hard. Thanks to you, Mercy Chefs has already made a profound difference for thousands of people. As we partner together, once again, something extraordinary is happening over a shared meal.

May God bless you,

Gary LeBlanc

P.S. We were so impressed by the young culinary student I mentioned above that I asked him to join our team for this deployment. He says his family has a long way to go to recover from these storms, but they are not giving up! In fact, they are writing Bible verses on the studs of their home, standing in faith that they will once again rebuild with God's help. Please help me meet the need here today and through the weekend. Go here: