At Least 72,000 Meals for Homeless Veterans Stolen on Veterans Day Weekend
A nonprofit group in the greater Kansas City, Missouri, area discovered Monday that its trailer filled with thousands of meals for veterans had been stolen.
Paul Chapa, the founder and president of Friends in Service of Heroes, had spent Veterans Day putting on celebrations for those who have served, KSHB-TV reported.
When he returned later that day to his organization’s office in the Kansas City suburb of Lenexa, Kansas, he noticed that the trailer was gone.
Chapa said the trailer was filled with 12,100 meal packets. Since each packet can make six to eight meals, the trailer contained roughly 73,000 to 97,000 meals in total.
KMBC-TV reported that the contents of the trailer were worth $30,000 and that it was stolen between 8 p.m. Saturday and Monday morning.
FISH was planning on handing out the meals to veterans at the Kansas City VA Medical Center on Nov. 21, according to KSHB.
“It was a punch in the gut,” Chapa said of the theft. “You know, such a great day, I mean such a great day, and to come back to this? It’s not cool.”
“Why would someone want to do this? These are the people that provide our freedom.”
Chapa elaborated in comments to KCTV-TV.
“They had to know it had something to do with our veterans,” he said.
“Why should any young man or woman be willing to do this if there aren’t people like me or you willing to support them when they come home?” Chapa said.
According to its Facebook page, FISH’s mission is “to engage and encourage everyday Americans to honor the men and women who have sacrificed to guarantee America’s freedom.”
FISH helps veterans and their families in a variety of ways.
“We provide service dogs and track chairs, mobility scooters and help with bills, you name it,” Chapa told KCTV.
“If it’s a veteran or active duty military or military family member, we’re going to step up and help them,” he said.
Trailer filled with meals for veterans stolen from nonprofit group on Veterans Day https://t.co/XfvK7PzE2S pic.twitter.com/R68DX4f0gn
— ABC Action News (@abcactionnews) November 12, 2019
The stolen trailer is 5 feet wide and 8 feet long and has a Kansas license plate.
The Lenexa Police Department is investigating the trailer’s disappearance.
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of the trailer, please contact the Lenexa Police Department at 913-477-7300 or FISH on its Facebook page.
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