Mercy Chefs in Shasta County: Real Food for The Hurting – A Special Edition

Mercy Chefs Help Rebuild

The sun was red, and the sky filled with what I wanted to imagine as fog rolling in, but it was smoke. Smoke that lasted for weeks and weeks. Ash fell from the sky and covered my car each morning. The air quality was poor and I spent my days trying to keep the kids inside as much as any mom can in the summer. Our throats all hurt and the headaches were enough to make me want to hide under the sheets waiting for the smoke to clear. Yet in the midst of this apocalyptic view outside my window, I couldn’t help but remain grateful.

I live an hour from the Carr Fire and a little over an hour the other way from the Mendocino Complex Fire. Yet here in Tehama county we remained physically untouched by these awful fires. So many have lost their homes. Lives have been lost and families are left trying to pick their lives back up after so much destruction. Cities and towns are trying to rebuild, to join hands, and help one another.

Offering Nourishment for the Body and Mind

I recently caught wind of an organization that came to help during this intense time of desolation. They brought in professional chefs from all over the country for one purpose: to provide real food to the families, first responders, and servicemen of Shasta County. It is common in situations like this to have food offered, but Mercy Chefs does something different. They provide whole meals, ones you’d likely find on a menu at a five-star restaurant. “The reason that Mercy Chefs is so important is that the quality of food tells people who have lost everything that it is going to be okay and that they are not alone,” says chef Kristin Macan, director of Community Outreach for Mercy Chefs.

Their goal is to feed the body and soul with a hot meal. In just over a week they provided 18,000 meals for the community. Mercy Chefs is a nonprofit organization traveling to disaster locations all over to cook these delicious meals. When the Carr fire started, there was no hesitation. “It was incredible to see how much damage and destruction had happened in the city of Redding, but so encouraging to see the resilience and how neighbors were helping neighbors. We were so proud to participate in such a beautiful display of service,” says chef Gary LeBlanc, founder and president of Mercy Chefs.

I had the opportunity to go serve alongside Mercy Chefs for a day and was truly honored to be there. You will not find a more kind, humble group of chefs than this team. Their creativity to make a meal out of whatever items were donated plus their ability to work with a new volunteer team each day to get hundreds of meals prepared for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was amazing. While I was volunteering we served barbequed pork, corn on the cob, southern style mashed potatoes, cornbread, and double chocolate brownies. Every meal was 100% free. Families could take their food to-go or sit in the cafeteria located at Bethel Church to escape the smoke while they ate.

In Service

Lisa Saylor, a managing chef for Mercy Chefs, shared her thoughts on the event. “I think what stands out to me the most in Redding is the volume of people that came together to help the victims. There were people of all backgrounds from all these different places – Idaho, Texas, Oregon, Montana, Oklahoma, Illinois, West Virginia, Arizona, New Mexico, Virginia, and Utah. People from all these different areas of the country got in their cars or on a plane to come and help without knowing what they would even be doing when they arrived. They just felt a strong pull to help. I thought that was amazing.”

There are so many people coming together to rebuild, to rise from the ashes. While the fires have been contained now, much of the smoke and ash remain. I encourage you to find a way to help. If you’d like to know more about Mercy Chefs or would like to donate to their cause, you can head to their website.

Localicious is a monthly column celebrating food in the North State. If you would like to suggest a food-related business or organization, email us at localicious@northstateparent.com.