Mercy Chefs serves meals in midst of Dixie Fire

Mercy Chefs, a Virginia-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization that serves professionally prepared, restaurant-quality meals in national emergencies and natural disasters, is in Susanville providing daily meal service at a community shelter as the Dixie Fire continues to expand throughout Northern California.

Mercy Chefs is serving 1,200 meals a day beginning Aug. 16 at Lassen Community College. The nonprofit is preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner out of the Veterans of Foreign Wars outpost with its West Coast mobile kitchen to deliver food directly to the shelters.

“The damage and destruction this fire has caused is heartbreaking,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs. “For many families, shelters like this one are the only source of refuge after their homes and livelihoods have been taken from them. We hope our meals can provide a small slice of hope in what is likely one of the darkest periods of their lives.”

Mercy Chefs is partnering with Bethel Global Response on the deployment, a crisis response organization affiliated with Bethel Church based in Redding, California.

Mercy Chefs has served more than 15 million meals since its founding in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when LeBlanc went to New Orleans to volunteer and realized disaster relief could be done better.

To support Mercy Chefs in its current relief efforts, visit mercychefs.com. Follow Mercy Chefs on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on its relief efforts.