SURGE Winter '26
to the Call
About 25% of active-duty military families live paycheck to paycheck. In October 2025, Mercy Chefs launched Feed the Force, delivering meals to those facing food insecurity while honoring their service.
Feed the Force
Who Serve Us
Military families are no strangers to uncertainty: frequent relocations, shifting schedules, rising costs, and the emotional toll of deployment shape everyday life. Many families face seasons of financial strain caused by delayed pay, unexpected income gaps, or the challenges that come with constant transitions, making planning for the next day especially difficult. Yet, through every season, military families continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience, strength, and commitment to their loved ones, to their communities, and to our nation.
Feed the Force was born from a call to serve those who serve others. During a time when many military families were navigating missed or delayed paychecks, Mercy Chefs stepped in to offer tangible support and encouragement on the home front. The initiative was not merely a reaction to crisis, but a proactive expression of honor, gratitude, and care, rooted in compassion and deep respect for those who shoulder extraordinary responsibility.
At the heart of Feed the Force are Family Grocery Boxes designed to meet everyday needs. Each box included pantry staples, spices, and, when available, fresh produce to help families prepare nourishing, home-cooked meals. Thoughtfully curated recipe cards transformed these groceries into planned dinners, restoring routine and normalcy. For many of these households, these boxes eased difficult choices and lifted a constant burden, bringing practical relief and a renewed sense of dignity in an already demanding season.
Prayers
A pregnant mother of two arrived at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, pushing an empty stroller—not for a baby, but for groceries. Delayed paychecks made it extremely difficult to feed her growing family. Without a vehicle of her own, she walked to receive the support she needed while her husband was at work.
Thousands of miles away in New Mexico, another expectant military spouse—her baby due any day and with two children at home—waited anxiously for the same help. Her family relies on federal nutrition assistance to make ends meet, but those benefits hadn’t arrived in time.
Two different families with very similar situations; both found relief when they received Family Grocery Boxes. “Thanks to Mercy Chefs, we can now focus on welcoming our baby home, knowing we have food on the table,” one shared.
In addition to grocery support, Mercy Chefs also served hot, chef-prepared meals at various military installations, from Oklahoma to Florida, Texas to Colorado, California to Virginia. Families gathered on base to share a meal together or took meals home. These hot meals provided connection and care, taking one more responsibility off the shoulders of families already carrying so much.
At several of our distributions, lines of cars stretched for miles with families waiting patiently for support. On a few occasions, Family Grocery Boxes ran out before every family could receive one, leaving some to depart with empty trunks and unmet needs. Seeing families turned away weighed heavily on our team members. But they were not forgotten: Mercy Chefs returned again and again with more hot meals and groceries to ensure every family was served.
Mercy Chefs worked closely with military bases and trusted community partners to ensure every distribution honored military culture and met families where they were. Service members, spouses, and veterans stood alongside their communities, often volunteering with our team to offer help, love, and care to these families.
Feed the Force served nearly half a million meals, reaching military families across the country. While this is an important milestone, our work continues. As we look ahead to 2026, Mercy Chefs remains committed to providing meals and ongoing support to military families. This initiative stands as a powerful reminder that when care is offered with dignity, it strengthens families who so often put others first.
Holiday Outreach
For The One
For Mercy Chefs, each holiday season is about returning to the one…
…to the mother facing an empty pantry after losing her job to disaster;
…to the family navigating a season built around joy while carrying the loss of a loved one;
…to the classroom where learning continues amid disruption.
Our team set the table worldwide in communities still reeling from a challenging year, helping families experience hope and joy during the holidays.
North Carolina
More than 15 months after Hurricane Helene, the need in Western North Carolina remains immense. Many still feel the storm’s long-term effects, and uncertainty looms daily. Through our Beacon of Hope Kitchen in Black Mountain, we continue walking alongside these children and families.
Christmas celebrations took shape in the form of chef-prepared meals, backpacks filled with easy-to-make food, and joyful moments for schoolchildren. One child, clutching her backpack, exclaimed, “This backpack has food in it!” Though surrounded by toys, what mattered most was knowing that she would have food after school.
Central
In remote communities across Central America, celebration often feels distant. Many families live far from paved roads, reliable electricity, or consistent access to food. For the holidays, Mercy Chefs set the table from village to village. Families crossed country lines on foot to receive meals they could share at home. Every plate restored dignity. Families who are often overlooked and live in constant uncertainty were reminded that they are not forgotten.
Community Kitchen
The holidays unfolded through quiet, meaningful moments at our Portsmouth Community Kitchen, where hundreds of families gathered for festive meals and activities. For many, it wasn’t just about the food. As a local mom shared, “A hot meal shows that someone cares. On a cold day, it says, ‘I’m thinking about you.’”
Our team created a safe, welcoming space, particularly for families with children who are sensitive to loud, unfamiliar environments. Kids decorated gingerbread houses at their own pace, while parents found relief knowing their children could participate joyfully.
Texas Hill
In remote communities across Central America, celebration often feels distant. Many families live far from paved roads, reliable electricity, or consistent access to food. For the holidays, Mercy Chefs set the table from village to village. Families crossed country lines on foot to receive meals they could share at home. Every plate restored dignity. Families who are often overlooked and live in constant uncertainty were reminded that they are not forgotten.
As Mercy Chefs celebrates 20 years, we do so with the same calling that has guided us from the start: showing up faithfully and
wherever needed.
Hurricane Melissa
Standing
Jamaica overnight, becoming an intense Category 5 storm. Entire communities were left without power, clean water, or access to food. Destruction was especially severe in Black River, where the hospital, police station, and schools were shattered. Hundreds sifted through debris from what remained of their homes. A woman said of the storm, “It was the longest five hours of my life. Every second felt longer than the last. I didn’t think I would make it out alive.”
Reaching the heart of the need was challenging, but by God’s grace, supplies arrived by charter boat from Puerto Rico, and most of our team flew on the only plane heading to Jamaica two days after the storm. Community pastors, leaders, and vendors became essential in guiding us. Working from sunrise to sunset with a barely functioning kitchen, Mercy Chefs prepared and distributed meals rooted in Jamaican tradition—such as jerk-spiced chicken with tomato curry, rice, beans, and vegetables. One man holding his plate called out, “Thank you for saving us from the nightmare of hunger.”
More than 400,000 meals served over three months reminded families that they weren’t alone.
Stability for
Schools became anchors for children amid widespread loss, but staff struggled to provide meals without electricity or resources. When we arrived, Christene, a primary school principal, shared, “I don’t think about lunch at all anymore. I just know that Mercy Chefs will come through [daily].” Hot meals nourished over 2,500 students each day, supporting both recovery and learning.
20 Years of
As I reflect on the past few months—on stories of pain and perseverance and hundreds of thousands of meals served—I am reminded that behind every community reached is a person simply trying to get through the day.
A child returning to school after devastating loss.
A parent hoping to bring enough food home.
A senior needing something steady to hold onto.
A family enduring conflict in one of the darkest corners of the world.
These are the ones Mercy Chefs serves.
This past year has marked a significant season of growth. When Mercy Chefs began, it took nearly 10 years to serve one million meals. In 2025 alone, we served over 6.5 million meals.
Faithfulness has driven us to show up in hard times, stay through long recoveries, and serve those at their most vulnerable. Every meal represents not only the rising need, but the increasing generosity of our partners who say yes.
Whether feeding schoolchildren in Jamaica months after a storm or standing alongside military families navigating uncertainty at home, our work is guided by the same calling that led us to step into our first disaster: “feed people; just go feed people.”
This year marks 20 years of Mercy Chefs. This humbling milestone represents 20 years of saying yes to the need and of partners, volunteers, and supporters like you choosing compassion.
As I look ahead, Mercy Chefs will continue to respond where we’re needed and remain long after the headlines fade. More importantly, we’ll continue to focus on the resilient people we serve, walking alongside them with humility.
Thank you for continuously standing with Mercy Chefs and for making it possible to feed body and soul today and for the next 20 years.
With gratitude,
Chef Gary LeBlanc
Founder & CEO, Mercy Chefs
Want
to Get
Involved?
To learn more about serving with us in disaster zones or in your own backyard, visit
mercychefs.com/serve
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