PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization Mercy Chefs is delivering 4,000 Thanksgiving meals in Lake Charles, Louisiana this weekend.

The team prepared holiday meals that local church partners will deliver door to door on Saturday, Nov. 21. The holiday meals include turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, pumpkin bars, and rolls each packaged to serve a family of four people.

Mercy Chefs says that due to COVID-19 safety measures, the meals will be delivered cold for residents to heat in their own oven or microwave.

The team recently responded to Lake Charles for two separate deployments following Hurricanes Laura and Delta where it served more than 150,000 meals and distributed more than 30,000 meal boxes.

“Our team is thankful we have the opportunity to return to Lake Charles and share a holiday meal with community members there,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs. “Lake Charles has endured so much this year, and we hope this brings some cheer to those in need.”

Mercy Chefs was founded in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when LeBlanc went to New Orleans to volunteer and realized disaster relief could be done better. The organization recently responded to the derecho in Iowa, Hurricanes Sally, Laura, Hanna, Dorian, Maria, Florence, and Michael, the Carr fires, the Houston floods, and tornadoes in Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio. It continues to service the Panama City community after Hurricane Michael.

To support Mercy Chefs in its current relief efforts, visit mercychefs.com/donation.