Dallas, Texas – After widespread flooding in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, communities are coming together to support each other, and The Salvation Army as response and recovery continues. Multiple cities have been affected with lingering power outages and high water impacting more than 4,500 homes.
Eight Salvation Army mobile kitchens are actively serving in the region, delivering hot meals, hydration and relief supplies. Volunteers with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) disaster relief begin work in the early hours each morning to prepare and cook food for distribution by The Salvation Army. The SBTC field kitchen is fully operational with a capacity to produce 5,000 meals per day.
“We have seen an incredible response to our Salvation Army disaster teams in the communities we are serving,” said Major Frankie Zuniga, with The Salvation Army in McAllen. “Staff and volunteers at our own location have been on the front lines of the efforts since Saturday, preparing thousands of meals each day for delivery. It’s what we do at The Salvation Army. We’re here to provide support in all of life’s crises, be it a natural disaster like a flood or storm, or to help the person experiencing homelessness, or a family that is hungry, or facing eviction. The Salvation Army is here to serve and support.”
Each mobile kitchen is manned by a team of two or sometimes three staff or volunteers. The work is challenging, with many moving parts, making volunteer and community support crucial.
“The team from The Salvation Army of McAllen has been serving meals in Weslaco. On the very first day we showed up, in no time at all we had two lanes of cars lined up with people waiting for meals. It was overwhelming for a little while until the Police and Fire Department staff showed up to serve,” said Zuniga. “Before I knew it, the Mayor was there handing out meals and drinks, along with the Police and Fire Chief, the City Manager and two County Commissioners. Together we distributed more than 1,400 meals in that city. But that didn’t happen in only Weslaco. We received similar support in Pharr, Edcouch, Donna, Elsa and McAllen. Community collaboration is key to any successful large-scale response effort, and The Salvation Army is so grateful for the proactive support of city offices and partner agencies.”
On Wednesday, Salvation Army teams are serving meals at the following locations:
Hidalgo County:
- Donna Recreation Center
- Jones Box Park Area
- Edcouch Elsa Volunteer Fire Department
- Palmview Library/Community Center
Cameron County:
- Santa Rosa Youth Center
- Laureles County Park
- Primera Police Department
- Harlingen Salvation Army
- Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum
Willacy County:
- Sebastian Police Department
Since services began on Saturday, The Salvation Army has served 13,681 meals, 12,263 drinks, 7,685 snacks, distributed 254 cleanup kits and 167 hygiene kits, and made 113 Emotional and Spiritual Care contacts.
For the latest information, please go to www.disaster.salvationarmy.org and watch for regular updates on our social media pages at www.facebook.com/salvationarmytexas/ and www.twitter.com/salarmytx
