Our Impact

Mary and her husband, David, have lived in Delta for more than 30 years. The couple was at home April 2 when a tornado devasted their town.

Mary watched from her back porch, but said her husband and a neighbor watched the twister as it traveled down the highway.

Not even a week later, another tornado struck the community.

“I was listening to Grant Dade (on KFVS weather), and I thought he had said something about it had gone through Advance,” she said. “Then I heard him say it was going between Chaffee and Delta. Next thing I know it’s coming down (Highway) 25. And it’s like, we’re right there because I can see 25 from my house.”

Mary, David, and their granddaughter, Jennifer, were unharmed, though the first tornado left them with tree damage and no power.

She said after the April 2 storm, her daughter who lives in New Mexico called after seeing the news.

“She told me, ‘Mom, home is not going to look the same when I get back there,’” Mary shared.

Mary said seeing the destruction to her community has been difficult.

“I’m seeing people moving around and working trying to help clean up the mess,” she said. “It’s going to take a long time.”

Mary visits her local Southeast Missouri Food Bank distribution once a month for her household, as well as an elderly family member who is no longer able to get out on their own.

“It helps us a whole bunch,” she said. “I appreciate being able to come here and get food and stuff, because it helps us at home.”