PORTSMOUTH, Va (WAVY) – Mercy Chefs, a Virginia-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization is responding to the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake. 

Mercy Chefs is an organization that serves chef-prepared in national emergencies and natural disasters.

Carl Ladd, vice president of Mercy Chefs Global, and other Mercy Chefs team members are en route to Turkey to connect with local partners and determine where Mercy Chefs can be of the most help in its response.

“We are grieving over this massive loss of life,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs. “We’re praying for protection for the first responders, officials, our partners and all of the people tragically affected by this earthquake. We don’t yet know what our response will look like, but we do know that we have the resources to help.”

Mercy Chefs has served more than 24 million meals since its founding in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when LeBlanc went to New Orleans to volunteer and realized disaster relief could be done better.