MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – The Tennessee Valley Authority has donated and delivered 10,600 "meals, ready-to-eat" to local disaster recovery agencies serving communities in north Alabama that suffered severe storm damage.

A TVA truck transported the self-contained meal kits from Muscle Shoals, Ala., to American Red Cross offices serving Madison, Marshall, Jackson, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Limestone, Morgan and Lawrence counties. TVA is coordinating the assistance through the Alabama Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross.

"TVA employees who live in north Alabama and our crews working tirelessly to restore power throughout our service region have seen firsthand the destruction across many counties in Alabama and other states," Chief Operating Officer Bill McCollum said. "Beyond our immense transmission line restoration efforts, this is a small way TVA can contribute to the relief efforts being undertaken by numerous agencies and organizations."

TVA already had the "meals, ready-to-eat" kits in hand in case of emergencies, such as a pandemic flu outbreak. TVA staff in Muscle Shoals recently had been researching ways to provide the kits to the Japanese earthquake relief efforts, but the April 27 storms brought the need closer to home.

Published May 6, 2011