Operation BBQ Relief is cooking and serving hot, nutritious meals to displaced families, emergency workers and volunteers in Moore, Okla. Volunteers had served nearly 32,000 meals by Thursday.
Utilizing BBQ pitmasters and a network of volunteers, Operation BBQ Relief provides hot meals to people affected by disasters across the United States.
Moore, Okla. (PRWEB) May 24, 2013
On the two-year anniversary of its founding, Operation BBQ Relief mobilized a disaster response team to Moore, Okla., in response to the catastrophic tornado resulting devastation. Volunteers have been cooking and serving hot, nutritious meals to displaced families, emergency workers and volunteers. The all-volunteer charity began serving meals Tuesday and had served nearly 32,000 meals by Thursday evening. They will continue to serve those in need until at least Wednesday, May 29.
Operation BBQ Relief volunteers are currently stationed at Hillsdale Baptist College, 3701 S. Frontage Rd, in Moore. In addition to serving meals at that location to those in need, meals will be delivered to other designated locations as needs are identified.
Donations and volunteers are needed to support this work. Donations can be made online at OperationBBQrelief.org. To register to volunteer and for the latest information, go to the charity’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/OperationBBQRelief.
Donations of items are also sought from individuals and businesses in the area. Items needed include aluminum foil, aluminum pans, extra-large disposable Nitrile gloves, three-compartment clamshell containers, flatware combo packs, gallon-size cans of vegetables and beans, and meat (such as chicken and pork butts).
BACKGROUND:
Operation BBQ Relief was established in 2011 after the devastating tornado in Joplin, which is south of Kansas City—one of the nation’s major barbecue capitals. BBQ pit masters (that normally fire up their equipment for competitions) are experts at cooking outside in any condition and serving large quantities of food at events. By firing up the grills to help, Operation BBQ Relief was born and volunteers began cooking BBQ and serving hot meals to the storm’s victims as well as the hundreds of emergency workers and volunteers who were on scene to help.
Utilizing these pitmasters and a network of volunteers, Operation BBQ Relief provides hot meals to people affected by disasters across the United States. Through its expertise in cooking and catering barbecue meals—and thanks to generous donors and sponsors—the not-for-profit is able to mobilize quickly to any area in need. The organization was created after the devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo. Last year it served more than 100,000 hot meals in New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
More recently, Operation BBQ Relief responded to the explosion and resulting devastation in West Texas.
The nonprofit has been working to raise funds and prepare for the spring tornado season. Donations are needed to be able to respond to disasters, wherever they might strike. To give, people should go to OperationBBQrelief.org.