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