MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Friday morning, volunteers from the Salvation Army of Memphis rolled out with a mobile kitchen to help those affected by tornadoes earlier this week across Middle Tennessee.
Two Memphis Salvation Army volunteers will drive the mobile kitchen - or canteen - to where it's needed most: the hardest hit areas in the Nashville area, as families begin a lengthy rebuilding process.
"Being there with the people is what makes the difference in times like this," Major Marion Platt of the Salvation Army said. "It reminds us of why we went into the Salvation Army in the first place."
The mobile kitchen left the Salvation Army Kroc Center a little after 6:00 a.m. Friday to make the drive east.
"This is one of the ways the Salvation Army helps people in their time of need," Major Platt said. "For more than 120 years now, the Salvation Army has responded to emergency disaster situations to make sure that people are met at their point of need."
The volunteers will drive the canteen to the Salvation Army's Nashville warehouse later Friday morning to load up on supplies and then head to the disaster zone.
"They are very excited about being able to help because they realize that the Salvation Army is a helping organization and we don't do that from afar, we want to do that close beside," Major Platt said.
When they arrive in the Nashville area, those Memphis volunteers will offer food, water, and emotional support to affected families and first responders.
"This is why people do what I do today, because there is a real hope and a desire to serve people. And so this kind of help brings a lot of hope to anyone experiencing any kind of trauma, whether that's personal or whether that's a disaster situation like the one in Nashville," Major Platt said.
The Salvation Army already has four other mobile kitchens being utilized in the Nashville region. Those with the organization said volunteers already provided more than 1600 drinks, 1200 snacks, and more than 1000 meals to more than 400 tornado victims across Middle Tennessee.
"It's really through the help of the Memphis community that we are able to help this way," Major Platt said.
It's expected the Memphis volunteers will serve tornado victims for two weeks.