Office of the Governor
For Immediate Release: Monday, July 1, 2002
For More Information Contact: Bob Mercer or Nicole Nordbye, 773-3212

Janklow Gives Salvation Army 2 Mobile Canteens

Disaster Response Capabilities Improved,
Hundreds of Thousands of Meals Will be Served, Starting With Grizzly Gulch Fire

(Pierre) – South Dakota disaster victims and emergency responders who rely on the Salvation Army in time of need will soon be getting better service.

Gov. Bill Janklow announced Monday the Rapid City and Aberdeen Salvation Army each received an emergency disaster canteen vehicle.  The canteens are 18 feet long mobile commercial kitchens that will provide much-needed food and water to victims and emergency workers at disasters across South Dakota.

Janklow presented the canteens to the Salvation Army in Aberdeen and Rapid City at separate luncheon meetings.  “Whether it’s a forest fire in the Black Hills or a tornado like the one that wiped out Spencer, Salvation Army staff and volunteers are often the first on the scene and the last to leave,” he said.  “They are committed to always being on hand to help in every situation and they need these canteens as an essential part of their relief-aid efforts.”

The Rapid City Salvation Army was dispatching their new canteen to the Grizzly Gulch fire Monday.

The state is paying for the canteens, which cost $92,010 each and are similar to the 20 canteens used following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The Sioux Falls Salvation Army, which currently does not have a canteen, will also benefit from the new vehicles.  They will receive the disaster service trailer currently used in Aberdeen.  Rapid City’s current canteen will also be relocated to another community in South Dakota for use at local disasters.

In South Dakota, the Salvation Army provided 179,000 meals during their response to the Rapid City flood, nearly 16,000 meals during the 1997 floods, and 5,000 meals and 20,000 snacks in the first days following the Spencer tornado.

In October 1999, the Salvation Army volunteered at the Payne Stewart plane crash site by providing meals to the National Transportation Safety Board, FBI and other local emergency responders.   In Fall 2001, the Salvation Army sent a canteen and personnel to assist emergency personnel with meals and water at the Federal Beef Fire in Rapid City.

Last month, the Salvation Army responded to the rescue/recovery efforts of a missing man at Lake Poinsett for 16 days with 35 volunteers.  They served 4,000 meals and 12,000 snacks and drinks to search and rescue workers.

And just last week, the Salvation Army sent volunteers and a canteen to respond to the aftermath of severe storms that hit Brown County.

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