The provincial Salvation Army will deploy four mobile kitchens to Port Alberni to feed volunteers and participants of Exercise Coastal Response breakfast and lunch during the emergency services exercise happening from June 7–10 in Port Alberni.
The stainless steel kitchens on wheels that will be coming to the Alberni Valley are normally used in a disaster situation to feed evacuees and first responders.
“The idea is it keeps the first responders going, it gives them the energy they need to keep doing what they need to do,” said John McEwan, divisional emergency disaster services director at the Salvation Army.
There are 14 units all together in British Columbia—one third of the Canadian fleet —four of which are currently on standby to go to Alberta to assist with the Fort McMurray wildfires if needed.
“Depending on the size of the unit, we can cook a variety of meals, anything from grilled cheese, to hamburgers, and hot dogs…that sort of thing. It’s not meant to be a catering type kitchen but it’s an emergency food prepare source,” McEwan said.
Emergency Management B.C. will be providing the food for the exercise, which McEwan said will include chili, garlic bread, salad, lasagna, grilled cheese and various breakfast items.
“We are also planning to have an emotional, spiritual care person alongside every truck. Usually even if it’s an exercise there will be some people that are upset or truamatized by some of the things that purportedly would happen to them,” McEwan said.
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