Smithfield Foods plans to send more than 37,000 pounds of lunch meat, bacon and ham to Fort Myers, Florida, for Hurricane Ian relief efforts.

The company will deliver the meat to Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs, a nonprofit that deploys to disaster zones across the United States and serves free, chef-prepared, restaurant-quality hot meals to victims, volunteers and first responders.

“Our hearts go out to everyone in the path of this catastrophic hurricane,” said Jonathan Toms, senior community affairs manager for Smithfield Foods. “We hope this food assistance brings some relief to the people of Fort Myers as they start down the difficult road to recovery.”

“Our continued partnership with Smithfield Foods is critical to feeding those who have lost everything,” added Gary Leblanc, founder and chief executive officer of Mercy Chefs. We’re honored to have the opportunity to serve those facing extreme devastation in Hurricane Ian’s wake.”

According to the New York Times, Fort Myers was among the areas hardest hit when Ian made landfall last week on Florida’s southwest coast as a Category 4 hurricane, producing storm surge flooding that may have exceeded six feet in some areas of the city.