On August 29, 2023, as one volunteer team returned from deployment in Maui, another group was already en route to Florida, gearing up to respond to Hurricane Idalia. As the Category 3 hurricane approached, they provided meals to first responders and search and rescue teams. After Hurricane Idalia’s landfall on August 30, 2023, we quickly moved to Live Oak, Florida, where we prepared meals in our field kitchen. We collaborated with local food trucks to deliver meals to residents, first responders, and relief workers across multiple counties and even across state lines into Georgia. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited one of our distribution sites and helped us serve meals to those impacted by the storm. We also launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with Amazon Disaster Response, utilizing Amazon Prime vans to deliver meals into rural, hard-to-reach areas. In total, we provided 306,812 meals in twenty days. Making this deployment even more special, we provided our 11 millionth meal on September 14, 2023. We are so grateful to our volunteers, sponsors, and other supporters for helping us achieve this milestone! Only through your dedication and hard work can we make a difference in the lives of those we serve.
