Operation BBQ Relief Sends Comfort (and Brisket) to Disaster Areas
A caravan of trucks are deployed to Florida to help feed Hurricane Milton survivors and first responders
In 2010, Jose Andres founded World Central Kitchen (WCK) in response to earthquakes in Haiti. Since then, WCK has been on the ground to provide meals and relief to nearly every world disaster — natural or manmade.
With the state of Florida reeling after two back-to-back hurricanes (Helene and Milton), WCK is currently on the ground, helping set up kitchens and partnering with local food trucks and establishments to help feed first responders and people trying to rebuild. At the same time WCK is helping residents on Florida’s west coast, it is also supporting communities ravaged by Helene in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.
While WCK is well known, another organization is helping feed people in hurricane-hit communities—and this one has its own fleet of mobile pits.
Operation BBQ Relief is a Missouri-based organization founded in May 2011 after Joplin, Missouri was devastated by tornados. Kansas City pitmasters Stan Hays and Will Cleaver (who has the best name for a pitmaster) started the operation as a grassroots effort to feed people displaced after the tornado. They called on their colleagues on the pitmaster circuit, with chefs from nine different states heeding the call and serving more than 120,000 meals in less than two weeks.
Since then, the operation has grown, with Operation BBQ Relief, a 501c3 organization, providing more than 11 million meals throughout the U.S. and worldwide.
In addition to disasters, Operation BBQ Relief feeds the homeless, veterans, and members of the military through its Always Serving Project.
The organization, which “believes in the healing power of BBQ” has been in Western North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida to provide more than 400,000 meals during the aftermath of Helene. Now, they’re on to Pinellas Park, Florida to help people who were in Milton.
Though Operation BBQ Relief has some corporate sponsors, it’s still very much a grassroots operation with people raising donations to keep the operation going through local fundraisers.
Operation BBQ Relief also raises funds through cookbook and merch sales, along with accepting tax-deductible donations. The site also posts some great recipes — its white sauce recipe is worth a donation in and of itself.
If you’ve been watching the news, and wondering how you can help, sending a donation to either WCK or Operation BBQ Relief is a good start. Surviving a hurricane is just the first part — rebuilding takes hard work. And a good meal makes all the difference in the world.