By now you’ve probably seen the drone footage and read about the massive destruction left across the Midwest and Southeast as a result of this past weekend’s tornadoes. We mourn alongside those who’ve lost friends, family, and co-workers, homes and business locations to these events – and we are determined to do everything in our power to help.

In response, the American Logistics Aid Network, otherwise known as ALAN, has activated to support tornado survivors via our network of non-profit partners.

As these partners assess what is needed in the affected areas, we expect them to request various forms of donated logistics assistance from ALAN, including transportation, warehousing, and material handling. So please, stay in touch with us often over the next few days and weeks, because your supply chain help may be urgently needed.  

What ALAN Is Doing For Severe Weather and Tornado Response

We’re currently coordinating with our non-profit partners such as the Food Shippers of America (FSA) via conference calls that are being hosted by state VOADs (Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster). During these calls, we’re getting key updates about which humanitarian services are most needed – and what kinds of specific challenges that first responders, rescuers and area nonprofits are facing. We are sharing information from those calls with our partners in the non-profit, government, and business community so that they, too, can be working with the latest, most accurate information.

We are also in the process of updating the "Tornado/Hurricane Information" portion of our Disaster Micro-site to include some resources such as state emergency actions and transportation waivers for businesses or individuals who have been affected by these tornadoes – and who might be in need of assistance. We’ve included a few those resources at the end of this e-mail, and we encourage you to pass along these links to anyone you think might find them useful.

And of course, we are preparing to fill logistics requests – and we appreciate that FSA members are poised to help. There are no active requests for our services yet, which is not unusual, because things are still very much in the search and rescue phase and most nonprofits are still assessing what’s most needed. However we expect that situation to change rapidly in the next 48 – 72 hours – which is where you come in.

How You Can Help

As a member of FSA or a key stakeholder in food logistics, if your organization has warehouse space, trucks, equipment, or supplies you’d be willing to donate to this cause go ahead and offer it now. The more advance information we have about available resources, the more quickly we’ll be able to fulfill requests for assistance and get survivors the help they need.

In a similar vein, make plans to visit the "Current Needs" section of our Disaster Micro-site often in the weeks ahead. That’s where we’ll be posting any unfilled needs we have, and we’d be grateful to have you help us fill one or more of them.    

Just as important, please make a donation to support our response activities.   We rely on your financial support. And your gift allows us to provide the logistics assistance that is so critical to helping these communities recover.

What Not To Do

On a final note please don’t self deploy to a tornado-impacted area – or organize a product collection drive to help tornado survivors.

Although the intention behind these efforts is good, they often create more challenges than they solve, including getting in the way of rescue efforts. So please don’t add to an already difficult situation. If you truly wish to help, send funds. Cash donations allow nonprofits to buy what they need, when and where they need it, and that will help survivors faster.

On behalf of all of us at ALAN, thank you for being part of our support system. We truly appreciate each and every one of you, and we are grateful to have you in our corner.

Related Articles:

• Making A Difference: FSA Continues Commitment in 2025 to Charitable Giving
• Food Chain Support for Southern California Fire Relief
• How Fire Turned Lahaina Into A Diaster Area – and How You Can Help through ALAN
• The Loss and the Hope in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene

When disaster strikes, Food Shippers of America works diligently to engage its members via its strategic relationship with the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). For more details, visit ALANaid.org.

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