Dallas, Texas – As meal service continues in multiple communities throughout the Rio Grande Valley, The Salvation Army expanded their support on Thursday to include distribution of food boxes and relief supplies in addition to hot meals.
The Salvation Army continues to provide large-scale, practical support to individuals and families impacted by flooding in Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy Counties in South Texas. Two feeding operations are running concurrently to facilitate effective coverage of the area. The Southern Baptist Texas Convention (SBTC) field kitchen is preparing up to 5,000 meals per day in Cameron County, while The Salvation Army team in McAllen are responsible to cover Hidalgo County. Flood waters in several areas is still yet to recede impeding families from entering their homes with more than 6,000 residences reported to have sustained damage of some kind. Clean-up and recovery in the area is ongoing with numerous non-profit agencies involved.
“More than 28,000 meals have now been served as part of The Salvation Army’s disaster response effort this week in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Kathy Clark, Assistant Divisional Director of Emergency Services for The Salvation Army in Texas. “We want to say thank you to our staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly since Saturday to bring relief to so many. Their hard work, along with the many community partnerships we have developed have made it possible for us to touch so many lives.”
The Salvation Army of McAllen participated in a food distribution event on Thursday in conjunction with the City of Pharr. In Cameron County, a Salvation Army food box distribution took place as service slowly transitions from relief to recovery.
Mr. Jonathan Flores, City Manager of the City of Pharr, speaking at the food distribution event at Jones Box Park, said, “We have our police department staff, fire department staff, fire marshals and emergency workers out here supporting our community. We are very grateful to The Salvation Army for providing more than 1,200 meals for our community that was significantly impacted by this storm.”
Service locations for Friday include:
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 Saturday, The Salvation Army has provided 28,927 meals, 27,068 drinks, and 12,628 snacks. Trained Salvation Army Emotional and Spiritual Care staff have prayed with 300 people. More than 334 cleanup kits have been distributed, 247 hygiene kits, and 384 food boxes.
“We expect to continue serving meals until Saturday and at that point will turn continuing response efforts back to local Salvation Army teams in Harlingen and McAllen,” said Clark. “Our staff and volunteers live and work in many of the communities that have been impacted, and I know it means a great deal to them to be serving their friends and neighbors at this time.”
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
