VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Mercy Chefs deploy disaster relief all over the world -- and now, to its own backyard.
Families are embarking on the journey of recovery after an EF-3 tornado ripped through the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach Sunday evening.
Now, the Portsmouth-based organization is stepping up to help nourish its neighbors in their time of need.
On Tuesday, Mercy Chefs announced its Virginia Beach deployment on Facebook. Volunteers will serve lunch each day to those in need, according to the Facebook post.
The organization prepared hundreds of hot meals on Wednesday. The team was led by Chef Christina, the managing chef of the Portsmouth Community Kitchen, according to Mercy Chef's Facebook.
Mercy Chefs' brand-new Land Rover drove the meals over. Wednesday was the first of many deployments aided by this delivery vehicle, the organization said.
Hundreds of people lost their homes in the tornado, but as of Wednesday, no injuries have been reported.
The city already had additional resources on hand for the Something in the Water music festival that weekend. Agencies had to quickly pivot from the Oceanfront to Great Neck after the tornado touched down.
There are several opportunities to help the community after the disaster. Through Mercy Chefs, people can make donations or sign up to volunteer.
People looking to volunteer in other ways can sign up with the city. Virginia Beach has two volunteer groups to look into: the Virginia Beach Community Emergency Response Team, and VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads.
Crews are still cleaning up debris in the area. The city reminds volunteers not to go to the scene until they are contacted and given instructions.