Feeding Operations End Today

Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief feeding operations in Liberty, Texas, ended with the lunch meal today. Over the last two weeks, two hundred Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers served approximately 100,500 meals. 

We have received several thank-you notes from the community, including the following:

“You earned a hug. Thank you.”
– an anonymous child

“Thank you so much for the food
that you cooked for us.”
– an anonymous child

“‘First, I give thanks to my God
through Jesus Christ for all of you,
because your faith is heralded
throughout the world (Romans 1:8).’
| We thank you for all your help
during this difficult time.”
– the Garcia family

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Please give generously to the Disaster Relief fund to support this response and others in the future.

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Mass Feeding Continues in Liberty, Texas

Virginia Baptists’ two Mass Feeding Units continue joint operations at First Baptist Church in Liberty, Texas.

This weekend almost 9400 meals per day were served. Service capacity has been limited by the availability of food supplies. The number of meals served is expected to rise after a food shipment arrives later today.

While power is being restored to the city of Liberty, there is still a great need for meal distribution in the outlying areas of Liberty County. We continue operating a drive-thru line at FBC, and the Red Cross is distributing meals to other locations.

FBC Liberty is being an amazing host to Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief. The church is cooking meals to feed our volunteers and is also helping staff the drive-thru line at the site.

Disaster Relief will be transitioning between teams on Tuesday, September 23, with the original volunteer team departing and a second team of 50 volunteers assuming duties at the site.

VBMB Kitchens Continue Support with Feeding

It’s Day Three in the wake of Hurricane Ike, and feeding service continues from the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s feeding unit kitchens at the FBC in Liberty, Texas.

From an outside support standpoint, the American Red Cross (ARC) is providing a Site Manager and four emergency response vehicles (ERVs) for our site.

Yesterday, the VBMB kitchen prepared and served approximately 6500 meals with 4500 served through our drive-thru lines and 2000 delivered by the ARC ERVs.

Our Crisis Care Chaplains also reported ministry contacts with approximately 600 members of the community as they made their way through the serving line.

Currently, all Baptist kitchens await regular deliveries of food product from the ARC/FEMA system. To fill the void, the VBMB is purchasing food from the local Sam’s Club and attempting to have a special delivery of food made so we can continue our feeding operations.

Our Sam’s Club stop-gap aside, food supplies, and other goods must be procured locally to ensure that the correct items are available in the correct quantities. For this reason, we cannot receive and transport donations of food, clothing or other items to Texas (though we are grateful for those who have offered to send food and care packages).

Feeding the Hungry and Extending Our Reach

The VBMB’s two Class C feeding units, with a capacity of 15,000 meals per day each, remain set up and working together as one large kitchen.

Starting today, this combined kitchen should begin preparation and service of two meals each day. The kitchen’s area of outreach will extend to a wider area and significantly greater number of hurricane victims with hot and nutritious meals when the American Red Cross’ Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) arrive on-site.

DR Teams Begin Supporting Relief Efforts in Texas

Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief is currently in service at the First Baptist Church in Liberty, Texas, a town of approximately 8000 people between Houston and Beaumont, Texas.

VBMB feeding units served an evening meal to 1500 hurricane victims today via both walk-up and drive-thru feeding lines. Overall, VBMB's Disaster Relief efforts are involved in the support of this operation with:

• 100 VBMB Disaster Relief volunteers
• Two Class C feeding units
  (capable of providing 15,000 meals per day)
• Two shower units
• One 50KW generator unit
• Four Crisis Care Chaplains
• Field leadership for all units

Due to site space constraints, both VBMB feeding units will be combined to create one kitchen. The first meal should be served this afternoon/evening. 

Because the American Red Cross’ Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) that typically deliver the meals have yet to arrive at the site, the first few meals will be served to walk ups and/or in the fellowship halls of local churches.

Liberty city officials said their power may be out of service for 6-8 weeks. In anticipation of a lengthy response, trained and certified volunteers are asked to contact Alice Rusher at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board at 804.915.5000 x7327.

Support for Ike Begins in Texas and Louisiana

The Disaster Relief team at the Virginia Baptist Mission board commenced operations as outlined below:

1. Two VBMB Feeding Teams are currently staged in Texas for response following Hurricane Ike. One team is in Dallas/Fort Worth.  The other is in San Antonio.
2. Two VBMB Feeding Units and two Shower Units are staged in Baton Rouge, LA.
3. Two Advance Logistics Teams are positioned and waiting near the Louisiana-Texas border.
4. Two pair of Crisis Care Chaplains will be deployed as soon as the location for the two response sites are known.
5. As of noon on Monday, the site locations for these units have not been given. Our feeding operations will be in partnership with the American Red Cross. Strategic plans for locating kitchens in places that can serve a wide rural and small town area, allow for efficient distribution of the meals and be supported with food and other supply products is a challenge. This strategic planning, along with the necessity for verifying access to and safety of church facilities (to host the feeding sites), are the reasons sites have yet to be assigned.
6. Our feeding units will begin cooking and serving meals as quickly as they can be assigned, set up, and supplied with products. They will not wait for the ARC’s site management system to come in to place before beginning operations.
7. The current teams will serve from September 14-24.  Second teams will travel in on September 23 then home on October 5.
8. Volunteers trained for service with DR Feeding Units are needed to fill the second teams. Those available and desiring to help should contact their local Baptist association’s DR Coordinator or the VBMB’s DR office. Association DR Coordinators receiving response and volunteers without access to an Association DR Coordinator should contact Alice Rusher (alice.rusher@vbmb.org; 1.800.255.2428 or 804.915.5000 extension 7322) to be added to the team lists.
9. The American Red Cross is generously paying the expenses for Feeding Unit team members to travel to TX for service.
10. VBMB Disaster Relief is NOT receiving donations of goods for transport to and distribution in Texas.

Feeding and Support Units Activated

The following Disaster Relief units have been activated to deploy in response to Hurricane Ike:

1. The Fredericksburg-based Mass Feeding Unit
   (capable of preparing 15,000 meals per day)
2. One Shower Unit
3. Two Crisis Care Chaplains

These units will leave Virginia today and stage at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief has been operating another Mass Feeding Unit in response to Hurricane Gustav. Relief operations for Ike at the final response destination are expected to begin on Tuesday September 16.

Because of the distance involved, Virginia Baptist Disaster Relief Recovery Units will not be activated for this response, however American Red Cross will be flying Feeding Unit volunteers from Virginia to the response location.

Credentialed Feeding Unit Volunteers
available for service should call the
VBMB Disaster Response Hotline
at 804.545.1212.

Trained Feeding Unit Volunteers Needed Now!

American Red Cross currently anticipates the need to provide more than 1 million meals per day after Ike makes landfall. If this level of need arises, both Virginia Baptist Mass Feeding Units may be asked to respond. 

The Fredericksburg-based Mass Feeding Unit is on “Stand By” status to respond to Ike. The Mechanicsville-based Mass Feeding Unit is currently serving in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in response to Hurricane Gustav and will continue operations there until released by American Red Cross. It is possible that this unit will be redeployed to respond to Ike.

Staffing both of these Mass Feeding Units would require 80-100 volunteers per team for two to three weeks. Feeding operations after Ike are anticipated to begin on Tuesday September 16. The first team may depart on Saturday September 13 or Sunday September 14.

Credentialed Feeding Unit volunteers available for service in the next three weeks should communicate their availability by calling their Associational Disaster Relief Coordinator or the VBMB Disaster Response Hotline at 804.545.1212.

Volunteers from other Disaster Relief units may be needed and activated as the hurricane nears landfall and will be contacted by the VBMB Disaster Relief communications network.