PORTSMOUTH, Va.— Volunteers with Mercy Chefs, an organization based in Portsmouth, are on the ground in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona.
After the storm brought widespread damage and power outages to the island, Mercy Chefs is stepping up to provide hot meals, clean water and support.
"We're seeing the people were working with have 4 feet of mud and water in their houses. It's just heartbreaking," Gary LeBlanc, Founder/CEO of Mercy Chefs.
LeBlanc describes what he's seeing in Puerto Rico this time around. Mercy Chefs also responded after Hurricane Maria back in 2017. LeBlanc said he thinks many people are more fortunate this time, but there's still much of the island without power.
"To see them knocked down once again just makes me so sad. We want to make sure that we give folks what they need to be able to reestablish normalcy in their lives," said LeBlanc.
Starting with serving hot meals and bottled water, organizers said they also brought mobile water cleaning units. In fact, each unit produces 300 gallons of clean water per hour to address the urgent need for drinkable water due to the hurricane.
"We're buying everything that we need here in Puerto Rico and we're hiring locals. We're trying to put as much money back into the economy here as we possibly can, even through the relief work," said LeBlanc.
With their boots-on-the-ground efforts the organization says they plan to be in Puerto Rico for at least two weeks, and even though they are thousands of miles away Mercy Chefs is sending a message to us here in Hampton Roads.
"People in Puerto Rico will say, 'Please, don't forget us.' It's the one thing they want here to know they're being remembered and thought of around the rest of the United States," said LeBlanc.
For information on how you can help, you can visit the website of Mercy Chefs.
