(WAND) - Hy-Vee has deployed dozens of employees to help victims of tornadoes in Kentucky and Tennessee.
A group of 37 employees will respond to those areas as part of a caravan of 19 vehicles. Those vehicles will be carrying 327,000 bottles of water and over 220,000 snack bars and breakfast items. The disaster recovery team left mid-morning Monday from Hy-Vee headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa. They stopped at Hy-Vee's distribution center in Chariton, Iowa, before making a drive of nearly 500 miles to Mayfield, Ky., where a powerful tornado ripped through and claimed dozens of lives.
While in Mayfield, the crew will help with local emergency operation centers and nonprofits to distribute snacks and water. They will also assist in recovery efforts.
In the caravan, there will be 10 Hy-Vee semitrailers, Hy-Vee's disaster command center, six disaster recovery pcikup trucks and two SUVs.
“As soon as we learned of the incredible tornado devastation in parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, we knew we had to send relief,” says Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman and CEO. “In times of great need, like these, it’s important that we help in the way we know best – by providing essentials like food and water as well as a helping hand.”
The team will also visit other impacted areas in Kentucky and Tennessee. It expects to be on the ground providing aid for several days during the week of Dec. 13.
