Crystal Wise
Mercy Chefs distributed hot food at Gateway Church's north Fort Worth campus the weekend after the snowstorm.
The snow may be gone, but Fort Worthians are still reeling from the effects of last week's storms that left many without power, water, and heat — not to mention grocery store shelves emptied of bread, milk, and other basic food items. With many still struggling, Virginia-based nonprofit Mercy Chefs is rolling back into Fort Worth by way of four 18-wheeler trucks stocked with boxes of groceries for those in need.
Mercy Chefs, in partnership with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program, will set up at four different locations around Fort Worth between Sunday and Wednesday. Crystal Padilla, a volunteer who has been working to bring a Mercy Chefs location and commercial kitchen to Fort Worth, says each 18-wheeler will be carrying 1,000 – 1,200 boxes of groceries, complete with a protein, dairy (including those hard-to-find gallons of milk), fruits, and vegetables.
Food distribution locations, dates, and times are outlined in graphic below.
It will be a drive-thru event, so families can simply roll up to the site, pop the trunk, and a volunteer will come by with a box (or two, if needed — no questions asked, Padilla says).
Mercy Chefs was also in town last week, from Feb. 19 – 22, handing out hot, restaurant-quality meals at the north Fort Worth campus of Gateway Church. Padilla says she'd like to see distribution events continue and is currently trying to obtain funding for a commercial kitchen that Mercy Chefs can use to prepare meals in Fort Worth.
"Fort Worth has a huge heart for the community," Padilla says. "We're ready. We can do something like this."