PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The death toll from twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela has climbed to more than 1,400 people with more than 3,200 injured. Search and rescue efforts continue, but a Hampton Roads nonprofit was ready to respond immediately thanks to an existing network already in place.
Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs has been operating five permanent feeding sites in Venezuela for more than two years, with three of those locations positioned directly in the hardest-hit areas of La Guaira, Moron, and Puerto Cabello. When the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck within 39 seconds of each other on Wednesday, their established teams immediately pivoted from regular community feeding operations to disaster relief.
"Mercy Chefs has been feeding in Venezuela for over 2 years now," said Gary LeBlanc, founder and CEO of Mercy Chefs. "We have 5 permanent feeding sites in the country. 3 of those sites were in the affected area. So, our teams on the ground, our partners there were able to immediately go in and begin feeding meals to the victims, to the volunteers, and the first responders."
One team quickly identified a critical need at an overwhelmed hospital in Petares that had lost its kitchen capability due to earthquake damage.
"And so the Mercy Chefs teams there in Venezuela, first day, first meals, were able to take care of that hospital, which was quite overrun, as you can imagine," LeBlanc said.
The organization is currently serving approximately 500 meals daily across their three sites in affected areas, but LeBlanc expects that number to increase significantly now that their U.S. strike team has arrived on the ground. More than 51,000 people remain missing, though officials note this figure likely includes people unable to communicate due to damaged cell towers and may contain duplicate reports.
Getting additional personnel into Venezuela has proven challenging due to infrastructure damage. The country's main airport, Simón Bolívar International Airport, was closed for several days after the quakes, though two runways reopened Saturday. Mercy Chefs' U.S. strike team had to route through Bogota, Colombia, and wait for visa processing.
"Getting into Venezuela has been pretty difficult. The runway is out. So they've had to stop over in Bogota and then wait for visas. We were surprised that some of the visa requirements were still in place and hadn't been waived," LeBlanc said.
Despite logistical challenges, the organization has committed to maintaining operations for at least one month, cycling in fresh teams every two weeks. For LeBlanc, the mission extends beyond simply providing sustenance. The meals represent something deeper for earthquake victims struggling with unimaginable loss.
"For the folks that have been affected by this, it's a moment of hope. It's a moment of dignity. It's a moment where somebody stands with them and says, you've not been forgotten, and we're here to help and be with you in any way that we can," he said.
"There's a lot of confusion on the ground, there's a lot of despair, and people are just frantic to find their loved ones," LeBlanc said, describing reports from his teams in Venezuela. "Heavy equipment is not readily available there, and so family members have been literally digging by hand to try and get to their loved ones that are stuck in the rubble."
LeBlanc, who is traveling to Venezuela this week to oversee operations, emphasized that Mercy Chefs' approach extends beyond immediate disaster response.
"Mercy Chefs will stay as long as we're needed and do whatever we have to do," he said. "It's not a hit and run for Mercy chefs. We always leave an independent deposit behind us that can continue on in the future."
The organization, which serves over 400,000 meals monthly across the world, had established their Venezuela operations to address ongoing food insecurity caused by the country's economic crisis, never anticipating they would become crucial infrastructure for earthquake response. As rescue efforts continue, organizations like Mercy Chefs provide essential support not just for victims, but for the first responders and volunteers working around the clock in dangerous conditions.
The International Organization for Migration estimates up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the earthquakes, including some 2 million in the capital city of Caracas alone. For those interested in following Mercy Chefs' relief efforts in real-time, LeBlanc directs people to the Mercy Chefs website, where the organization posts updates and images from their operations on the ground.
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