Photo: Cars wait in a line to pick up meals Friday afternoon at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home at the Salvation Army/Mountain Home CARES event which provided more than 400 meals to members of the public who were in need of assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Saturday, March 28, shortly before 5 in the afternoon, an EF-3 tornado struck Jonesboro, causing tremendous damage to the heart of the city.
Less than five hours later, a disaster-relief team from the Mountain Home Salvation Army was on site and serving meals come Sunday morning.
Corps Assistant Bryan Brinlee led the crew of four volunteers for four days, serving approximately 2,000 meals in Jonesboro to those affected by the tornado and those working to clean up the damage.
Brinlee says the scene was one of utter devastation, but that no one losing their life to the tornado was a blessing.
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The tornado hit less than 24 hours after Brinlee and other volunteers served meals on Friday afternoon in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is closing in on claiming the lives of 10,000 Americans.
Brinlee says serving meals and operating the Salvation Army food pantry is the group’s main focus nationwide during the pandemic, which is already stretching the resources of the relief agency.
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Donations of any sort would be greatly welcomed, Brinlee adds.
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Brinlee with more on donations and volunteer opportunities.
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While most may think of food donations as simply canned goods, the Mountain Home Salvation Army can accept donations of any kind, according to Brinlee, who also describes non-perishable items that would make good donations.
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After returning from Jonesboro on Thursday, Brinlee and the canteen were back in action on the campus of Arkansas State University-Mountain Home on Friday, as the Salvation Army partnered with a new group of concerned citizens called Mountain Home CARES to serve over 400 meals to those in need.
The new program also aids restaurants attempting to cope with the loss of business due to social distancing restrictions from COVID-19. Mountain Home CARES has collected financial donations and purchases the meals from a local restaurant to aid both the public and the business community.
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