Is Mercy Chefs Scam or Legit? Unveiling The Truth

When natural disasters strike, people open up their hearts (and wallets) to help those in need. Unfortunately, scammers also come out of the woodworks, trying to take advantage of people’s generosity.

One charity that often comes up in the aftermath of hurricanes, wildfires, and other calamities is Mercy Chefs. They claim to provide hot, chef-prepared meals to victims and first responders.

But is Mercy Chefs a legitimate organization worthy of your donation? Or is it a scam designed to simply line the pockets of its founders?

In this in-depth review, I’ll explore Mercy Chefs from every angle. We’ll look at their history, track record, finances, and more. That way, you can decide for yourself whether they are scam artists or the real deal.

Let’s dive right in.

The Origins of Mercy Chefs

Mercy Chefs was founded in 2006 by husband and wife duo Gary and Ann LeBlanc.

Gary is a Louisiana native and former chef with over 35 years of experience in the culinary world, including owning his own restaurants.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area in late 2005, Gary decided to volunteer his services. He was shocked by the poor quality of food being served to victims and first responders.

After seeing first-hand how much of a difference a hot, nutritious meal could make, Gary was inspired to start Mercy Chefs. Their mission: to serve tasty restaurant-quality meals to those impacted by natural disasters and emergencies.

Over 15 years later, Mercy Chefs is still going strong. They’ve served over 15 million meals in disaster zones across the United States and around the world.

Behind the Scenes With Mercy Chefs

To see if Mercy Chefs is legit, it helps to look behind the curtain at how they operate.

Mercy Chefs is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. This means donations are tax deductible. It also means they have to file publicly available tax returns and follow certain rules around governance and spending.

The charity is based in Portsmouth, Virginia and has around 70 employees and hundreds of volunteers. They operate a fleet of mobile kitchens, trucks, and other disaster relief equipment.

When disaster strikes, Mercy Chefs mobilizes staff, volunteers, and kitchens to the impacted area. They aim to have hot meals ready within 24-48 hours.

Their setup is impressive to see in action. From massive stock pots to refrigerated trucks and bunk houses, they have the large-scale equipment required to cook and serve tens of thousands of meals per day.

Extremely vetted and talented chefs oversee the cooking. They come up with nutritious menus and recipes using supplies from organizations like Feed the Children.

Mercy Chefs also relies on an extensive network of volunteers, both locally and from across the country. These people help with meal prep, serving, cleanup, and other tasks.

Once everything is set up, Mercy Chefs distributes free meals to victims staying in shelters or simply struggling in the disaster zone. They also ensure police, firefighters, paramedics, and other first responders get fed.

A Non-Profit With Financials to Back It Up

Of course, operating on such a large scale across multiple disasters every year requires significant funding. And this is where things get really interesting when determining whether Mercy Chefs is a legitimate charity or a scam.

Thanks to their non-profit status, we can view Mercy Chefs’ financial statements and tax returns going back over a decade on sites like:

• Charity Navigator
• GuideStar
• ProPublica

Let’s look at some of the hard numbers:

In their most recent fiscal year (2020), Mercy Chefs reported total revenue of around $15.5 million and expenses of around $14.5 million.

The vast majority of their spending (86%) went directly towards programs and services, with only a small portion going towards administrative costs (7%) and fundraising (7%).

Looking at the types of revenue, it’s clear Mercy Chefs gets donations from all kinds of sources, including:

• Individuals
• Corporations
• Other non-profits
• Fundraising events

They have assets totaling over $9 million, including $3.5 million in cash, savings, and investments.

In other words: this is a very well-funded charity that isn’t squandering donations on excessive overhead or lining the founders’ pockets.

High Ratings From Charity Watchdog Groups

But we don’t just have to rely on their financials to determine if Mercy Chefs is on the up-and-up. Leading charity watchdog and rating groups also vouch for their legitimacy.

Charity Navigator, which evaluates non-profits based on transparency and financial health, gives Mercy Chefs their highest 4-star rating.

They score 95/100 on metrics like having an independent governing board, keeping fundraising costs low, and committing to accountability and transparency.

GuideStar, another charity monitoring group, gave Mercy Chefs their Platinum Seal of Transparency after evaluating their operations and results reporting.

Lastly, Charity Navigator lists Mercy Chefs on its “Top 10 Best Charities Providing Food in Times of Crisis” list.

In other words, multiple independent organizations have vetted Mercy Chefs and confirm they are not a scam. As far as financial integrity goes, they get top marks across the board.

What People Say About Mercy Chefs

Of course, evaluating a charity goes beyond just looking at numbers on a page. Their actual impact and how they treat people matters just as much, if not more.

After over 15 years of operations, there’s plenty of information available about what it’s like to work with or be helped by Mercy Chefs.

Current and former volunteers and employees have shared hundreds of reviews across sites like Glassdoor, GreatNonProfits, Charity Navigator, and more.

The overwhelming majority of these reviews are glowingly positive:

Many volunteers highlight the incredible team dynamic and how they felt so welcomed and appreciated. A common theme is that everyone works together like a family with smiles all around.

Former employees praise the stellar leadership and passion of founders Gary and Ann LeBlanc. They also note the strong commitment to the charity’s mission of truly serving people in need.

Feedback from disaster victims that Mercy Chefs has helped is universally positive. They point to the hot, delicious meals as raising morale and helping get through immense struggles.

Of course, no organization will have 100% perfect reviews. There are a handful of negative experiences, largely from disgruntled former employees or volunteers.

However, negative reviews appear to be the exception rather than the norm.

High Profile Coverage and Accolades

Beyond individual reviews, Mercy Chefs has been featured by all kinds of major media outlets.

They’ve been highlighted in national publications like USA Today, Washington Post, Fox News, and People Magazine.

The Weather Channel has worked directly with Mercy Chefs to raise awareness and spread their mission during hurricane relief efforts.

In 2011, Mercy Chefs founders Gary and Ann LeBlanc were honored with the prestigious Christian Service Charities Award for their humanitarian work.

Chef Gary even competed and won on the hit TV show “Chopped: Nightmare Before Thanksgiving” episode!

Basically, when widely-respected organizations are teaming up with and honoring Mercy Chefs, it’s a sign they are the real deal.

So Is Mercy Chefs Legit or a Scam?

After reviewing every aspect of this charity, the evidence clearly shows that Mercy Chefs is 100% legitimate and NOT a scam. They have an inspiring founding story and mission to serve chef-prepared meals in times of crisis.

Their financials, operations, and governance all check out thanks to independent charity monitoring groups. 1000s of volunteers, employees, and victims served endorse the quality of their work. Major organizations and media outlets praise and highlight Mercy Chefs.

Simply put, Mercy Chefs delivers on their promises of providing freshly cooked meals and food relief to those in need. Their overhead is reasonable, and they have strong financial controls in place.

Could they be a bit better about handling internal employee/volunteer relations based on some negative reviews? Sure. No organization is perfect.

But there are zero red flags indicating Mercy Chefs is a scam designed to commit fraud or enrich its founders at others’ expense.

They are a legitimate 501(c)(3) non-profit with transparency around their governance and clear impact in serving over 15 million meals during disasters across the globe.

How You Can Support Mercy Chefs’ Efforts

If you’re looking to donate money to help disaster relief efforts, Mercy Chefs is absolutely a worthy and effective organization to support.

Giving directly to their general operations fund is best, as it allows them to mobilize resources as quickly as possible after the next hurricane, wildfire, or emergency.

You can easily donate directly through their website at mercychefs.com.

They also occasionally crowdfund for specific relief efforts and major disasters through GoFundMe if you prefer to give that way.

In addition to financial donations, Mercy Chefs also accepts:

• Food/grocery donations (coordinated through their Amazon Wish List and partners)
• Volunteers to help with prep, cooking, serving, and cleaning
• Corporate partnerships and sponsorships

No matter how you decide to get involved, your support allows Mercy Chefs to continue their incredibly important work of serving hot, nutritious meals in the most desperate of situations.

The Bottom Line

In this era of internet scams and viral misinformation, it’s only natural to question the legitimacy of any organization asking for money — even if they claim to have good intentions.

Thankfully, Mercy Chefs has proven itself time and again to be an authentic charity truly committed to its mission and serving those in need.

With completely transparent financials, a strong network of support, and a decade-plus track record of mobilizing meal relief efforts, they are the farthest thing from a scam.

So the next time you’re looking to help out during a natural disaster or crisis, you can feel 100% confident donating to or volunteering with Mercy Chefs. Your generosity will go a long way in the form of freshly cooked meals for victims and first responders.