Volunteers provide critical meals in the aftermath of Mississippi tornadoes

AccuWeather

Mercy Chefs is already on the ground in Tylertown, Mississippi, helping with food after a tornado devastated the town.

Transcript

00:00Tornadoes hit 11 states over the weekend.

00:02Mississippi had the most.

00:04A deadly tornado tore through Tylertown,

00:07and that's where nonprofit Mercy Chefs are setting up to help.

00:10Spokesperson Amy Avery joins us now.

00:13Amy, how are you and your teams preparing to help beginning this evening?

00:19Well, first off, thank you so much for having us on tonight.

00:21We just got into Tylertown in the past 24 hours,

00:24and we're already getting our first meals out tonight.

00:27We're set up at Salem Baptist Church in Tylertown,

00:30so in the heart of the need.

00:32This whole town is without water and without power,

00:35so we wanted to get to a place where we knew

00:37that we'd be able to serve the most people most effectively.

00:40So right now, we're setting up our tents

00:42and our mobile kitchens in the church parking lot,

00:45and we also are going to have a drive-through line tonight

00:47so people can come and get those hot meals,

00:50because a lot of them probably haven't had hot food in days,

00:53not having power, not having water to cook.

00:56So we knew that this place was definitely where we needed to be.

00:59Can you describe some of the damage that you've seen

01:01in the Tylertown community since you arrived to help?

01:05Absolutely.

01:06It is just so devastating and so widespread,

01:09seeing all of the damage.

01:11We're seeing trees on homes.

01:13We're seeing entire paths going through homes,

01:18belongings dispersed.

01:20It's just amazing to see the damage left behind from this powerful storm.

01:25But when we come into areas like this,

01:27we know that people are just so incredibly resilient,

01:30and that's what we're seeing here.

01:32We're seeing people who haven't had power for several days

01:35whose own homes are damaged.

01:38They're here serving alongside us, and that's such a beautiful thing.

01:41Absolutely.

01:42So with such widespread damage across so many states,

01:46how is Mercy Chefs mobilizing,

01:48and how do you determine where to go?

01:52You know, we look at the heart of the need.

01:53We knew that this town was without water

01:55and was going to be without water for several days,

01:58and it's really difficult to cook without potable water.

02:01So that was kind of where we decided

02:03that the heart of the need was for us to go to.

02:07And then we have a team that kind of goes on the ground

02:09to see where we can be most effective.

02:13So they were on the ground as quickly as they could be,

02:17Saturday night into Sunday morning,

02:19trying to find the best place to set up shop.

02:21So from here, we'll be able to get meals out

02:23to different towns around Tyler Town,

02:26and we'll be able to travel and partner with different churches

02:28to be able to get those meals out

02:30to different areas that need it as well.

02:34And how can people?

02:39Well, people can go to mercychefs.com.

02:41If you are local, we always need volunteers.

02:44So we'd love to have you here on site with us.

02:46If you can't help physically, we'd love to help you,

02:48have you come alongside us financially.

02:51You can go to mercychefs.com.

02:52And the beautiful thing about giving to Mercy Chefs

02:54is the money that you give today to help with a meal

02:57goes to feed somebody tomorrow.

02:59So you know that your money is going to somebody

03:02who is in need right here in Tyler Town, Mississippi

03:05and the surrounding areas.

03:07Amy Averson or Amy Avery, spokesperson for Mercy Chefs.

03:11Thank you so much for checking in with us

03:13and for all you do.

03:15And thank you so much for keeping people informed.

03:19All right.

03:19Thanks, Amy.

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