In response to last week’s explosion and resulting devastation in West, Texas, Operation BBQ Relief has mobilized a disaster response team to serve hot nutritious meals to displaced families, emergency workers and volunteers. The nonprofit began serving meals Thursday.
Operation BBQ Relief volunteers have set up at VFW Post 4819, located at 715 S. Reagan Rd. in West. In addition to serving meals at that location to those in need, meals will be delivered to other designated locations that are helping the victims, emergency workers and volunteers.
Donations and volunteers are needed to support this work. Donations can be made online at OperationBBQrelief.org. To sign up to volunteer, go to the charity’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/OperationBBQRelief.
Donations of items also are 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).
Operation BBQ Relief was established in 2011 after the devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo., which is south of Kansas City—one of the nation’s major barbecue capitals. Barbecue pit masters (who normally fire up their equipment for competitions) are experts at cooking outside in any condition and serving large quantities of food at events.
Utilizing these pitmasters and a network of volunteers, Operation BBQ Relief provides hot meals to people affected by disasters across the U.S. 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. Last year it served more than 100,000 hot meals in New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
