Panama City, FL – The Salvation Army is ramping up meal service to areas across the Florida Panhandle ravaged by Hurricane Michael. In addition to property damage, survivors and responders are faced with widespread power outages.Â
As of October 14, more than 191,000 people were still without power in Florida, with four counties reporting 92-98% of residents impacted by the outage. The Salvation Army has 42 mobile feeding kitchens (canteens) serving across the area to provide meals and supplies as people wait for utilities to be restored so rebuilding can begin.
Amazingly, Ashley Johnson and her four young children were in good spirits as they waited in line for a hot meal from The Salvation Army’s mobile feeding kitchen (canteen) in the late morning heat. The family managed to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Michael as it approached the Panama City area as a strong Category 4 storm.
“We thought about riding it out, but we knew it was time to go when it nearly became a Cat 5 hurricane,” says Ashley. Returning home, they found what most in the area did: trees were blown down, damage to their house, and no electricity to speak of.
Keeping her kids entertained over those initial days wasn’t easy she says, but they were still standing, alive and incredibly thankful that The Salvation Army was there to provide food for her family. “You don’t know how much you appreciate a hot meal and something to eat when everything is so scarce and you have to feed your family,” says Johnson. “It’s amazing to have The Salvation Army helping, it really is.”
As of October 13, The Salvation Army has provided the following to people impacted by Hurricane Michael in Florida:
- Meals – 24,649
- Drinks – 25,024
- Snacks – 20,113
- Emotional and Spiritual Care – 545 people
- Water (cases) – 1,756
- Service hours – 6,197
Additional information:
- The Salvation Army has served survivors of every major national disaster since 1900.
- In times of disaster, we serve the whole person – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
- After immediate needs are met, The Salvation Army will remain and continue to partner with impacted communities to rebuild. Rebuilding communities takes time and partnership, and we will be there as long as it takes.
- The Salvation Army is there before, during, and after the storm.
