VA'S Canteen Sevice Provides Critical Food & Nutrition in Helene Aftermath

Asheville: October 18, 2024:  VA'S Veterans Canteen Service -- When Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina at the

end of September 2024, VA’s VCS moved swiftly to provide critical food and nutrition to Veterans and VA staff in the area.

When the medical center called to request relief, VCS was prepared. As part of the agency’s support of VA’s fourth mission, VCS deployed the Rapid Response Mobile Emergency Nutrition Unit (MENU), which is a fully operational kitchen hauled by truck. The MENU has also deployed in times of crisis to other hurricane-afflicted areas.

On the journey, many roads were closed due to flooding, and increased traffic slowed the trip further. After arriving in Murfreesboro, Tenn., to load the 2 tons of food cargo, the VCS group had to redirect to Atlanta, then travel back north to Asheville to bypass washed-out roads.

Upon arriving at the Asheville VA on Oct. 2, the 6-person VCS team began serving meals to people in the afflicted area. The team served 17,000 meals from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8. This included hot meals for breakfast and dinner, plus boxed meals for lunches.

The boxed meals were prepared and served by the local VCS Canteen team in Asheville, a team of six lead by Canteen Chief Tara Clark. Tara’s team understood the damage in the community; they themselves were without power and water at home, but they reported to duty and helped serve Veterans and VA staff in the crisis.

Jeramie Mitchell, an Army Veteran and nutrition and Whole Health specialist with VCS, said people thanked him and his team the entire time they worked there.“The people there probably hadn’t had cold water and a hot meal since the storm hit,” said Jeramie, who also acted as the co-lead for emergency deployment in VCS.

The team also strived to meet the dietary needs of the Asheville area, offering vegetarian meals and gluten-free options. They also donated over 300 meals to needy Veterans in the area, along with toiletry items.

This was Jeramie’s 6th deployment with VCS, but the first for VCS Logistics Specialist Paul Zeveski, in 13 years of federal service. “This was the most difficult mission of my career,” Paul said, “but by far the most rewarding.”