SEATTLE — Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York still doesn’t have power fully restored, three weeks after super storm Sandy.Some local volunteers are traveling there so they can deliver warm meals on Thanksgiving. For the next week, they’ll be in the middle of the devastation serving meals to people who’ve lost their homes and the first responders who are helping them.”Food is love,” says Soup Lady Ginger Passarelli. “I remember when we were in Mississippi after Katrina and I asked this lady, ‘would you like a caesar salad?’ She got tears in her eyes. Because she said, ‘I haven’t had anything with fresh produce.’ It means that much to people.”Passarelli is the first soup lady, the one who started making good food from scratch and delivering it to local firefighters stuck on a scene for hours. Now she takes her mission and a team of volunteers into disaster zones.

This will be Jannalle Noller’s first Soup Lady trip.

“My daughter, when I emailed her she said, ‘uh, mother, you don’t like to cook.’ I said ‘no, but I love to clean up and I’m really good at organizing.’ So I figure I can do dishes. And I can ladle soup, you know?”

The Soup Ladies will use whatever supplies they find and then hand deliver meals right into the heart of the mess.

One meal, in the middle of devastation, becomes more than food.

“It’s a touch of normalcy. It just means that in spite of everything else going on in their life, they can share a meal with somebody,” said Soup Lady Sheila Lein.

And to share that meal on Thanksgiving – with strangers in need? It’s a recipe that warms the heart and soul.

“I’m just looking forward to it and I know wherever we go, we’ll leave some happy people,” said Lein.

There are about 40 Soup Lady volunteers, and the group is always looking for more. They also need financial help. If you would like to donate, visit www.soupladies.org.