More than 24,000
served since Friday
March 24, 2009 - Since Friday, The Salvation
Army has provided food, hydration, and emotional/spiritual care to more than
24,000 people in the Fargo/Moorhead area as they defend the community against
an imminent flood that could cause mass devastation.
Sixty-four Salvation Army staff and volunteers have
served more than 10,400 meals, 23,000 snacks and 22,000 drinks to thousands of
volunteers as they fill sand bags and build levees to ward off Red River flood waters expected to crest at 40 feet on
Thursday. That is 22 feet above flood stage, and slightly higher than the
historic Fargo
flood of 1997.
Five mobile feeding units (canteens) deployed from Bismarck, Brainerd, Fergus
Falls, the Twin
Cities and Willmar are roving neighborhood streets.
Another canteen is fixed at Fargo's
garbage utility - or "Sandbag Central" - where legions of volunteers are
filling an estimated 25,000 sandbags per hour.
"The Salvation Army's operation is vital to supporting
the people who are fighting to save our community," said Captain Adam Moore,
administrator of the Fargo Salvation Army. "This is a race against time. The
propensity for great property loss is more and more evident with each foot the
river rises."
To date, The Salvation Army has spent more than $20,000
on this effort. To donate, call 800-SAL-ARMY or click the button below. Designate your donation "Fargo Flood."
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