Sivani Babu, American Red Cross

As many of those impacted by Hurricane Milton return home, the American Red Cross remains active in communities throughout the state of Florida, making sure people have hot meals and water.

In Tampa’s Copeland Park, Red Cross volunteers Michelle Sopchak and Gary Sulz ladle barbecue beef and green beans into containers alongside sandwich buns and fruit cups as neighborhood residents walk, bicycle and drive up to the emergency response vehicle to get lunch.

For people dealing with the aftermath of the Hurricane “having a hot meal takes a little off their plate ... if they’re fed, maybe they can think about other things,” Sulz said.

Sulz and Sopchak, working as a team, serve meals from an emergency response vehicle, one of dozens of Red Cross emergency response vehicles that have arrived from across the country and are dedicated to feeding people affected by the hurricane, many of them still without power. The food is provided by Red Cross partner organization Operation BBQ Relief, which is providing around 2,000 meals each day for distribution throughout the Tampa area.

In Florida, approximately 1,500 Red Cross disaster responders are on the ground assisting those impacted by the back-to-back hurricanes, and the Red Cross has served more than 770,000 meals and snacks.

“It’s not just about the food”, Sopchak said. “a hot meal lets people know they’re on their way to recovery.”

If you are in the impacted area and need a hot meal, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to find out where the Red Cross is near your neighborhood.

To donate and help support Red Cross disaster relief efforts, text MILTON to 90999.