Operation BBQ Relief Continues Mission to Help Disaster Victims

This nonprofit provides free hot meals and a sense of hope where it is needed most, including places impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

This week’s guest article is written by Michael “Chigger” Willard, host of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show podcast and blog, which shares barbecue stories of pitmasters and people doing good things in the Carolinas. Today, he spotlights the important work of Operation BBQ Relief in the wake of a disaster. If you want to write for The Smoke Sheet, please get in touch.

When late September storms devastated the Southeastern U.S., millions lost power and water. Others watched their worldly belongings disappear in flooding and landslides that swept away entire homes and towns. Roads were destroyed, communications were severed, and rural mountain communities lost their lifelines to civilization. More than 250 people died across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

As an entire region grappled with destruction and despair, Operation BBQ Relief raced into action, providing free hot meals and a sense of hope in places that needed it most. 

Operation BBQ Relief recently deployed in multiple states to help people impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

During 23 days following the landfall of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Missouri-based non-profit served 900,000+ meals in six Southern states. Now with dozens of meal sites still operating across the hardest-hit areas of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida, Operation BBQ Relief continues to fulfill the same critical relief mission that inspired founder Stan Hays in 2011.

To join Operation BBQ Relief efforts, make a financial donation — $25 provides for four hot meals. Likewise, volunteers are desperately needed. 

Keep reading to find out what sparked the start of the disaster response organization.

Hot Meals in the Wake of Tragedy

Stan Hays is the founder and CEO of Operation BBQ Relief.

This year’s hurricane aftermath mirrors much of the tragedy that lit a fire under Operation BBQ Relief. 

In May 2011, an EF5 tornado in Joplin, MO, destroyed 4,000 buildings and damaged nearly 4,000 more, including one of the city’s two hospitals and much of its basic infrastructure. Causing $2.8 billion in damages and leaving 158 people dead and 1,150 injured, the weather event became the nation’s most costly single tornado in history.

“… Joplin is two and a half hours from my home,” Operation BBQ Relief Founder and CEO Hays shared during The Low & Slow Barbecue Show.  “And I knew people in that area. I had friends. I had colleagues in that area.”

“I just remember watching it that afternoon and into the evening,” he continued. “As I was getting ready for work the next morning. My wife gets up and says, ‘You need to get your BBQ friends together, and you guys should just go to Joplin and cook.’”

Like many barbecue pitmasters, Hays’ live-fire passion started in college, cooking burgers on a barrel-type grill for fraternity parties. From there, he evolved to a bullet smoker before stepping up to something larger. By 2011, Hays was a seasoned competitor with a deep network of pitmasters. 

“I called the guy who was my mentor in BBQ. In about a 15-minute phone call, we had a plan for how we were going to go to Joplin,” he said, adding a Facebook page dedicated to “Operation BBQ Relief for Joplin” attracted thousands of followers and plenty of helpers. 

“We were really uniquely qualified. We weren’t just a bunch of knuckleheads … Many of these people were competition BBQ folks,” Hays said. “What we thought would be a few thousand meals in a few days was 11 days of cooking in a parking lot and over 120,000 meals served. By about day three, we knew there was such a gap that existed for real food for people.”

Continuing the Barbecue Relief Operation

Operation BBQ Relief often works with first responders to help those in need.

Thirteen years later, Operation BBQ Relief has served more than 12 million meals across 42 states during 4,193 deployments — and counting. That work isn’t limited to disaster.  

“Blue-sky day” activities like pitmaster training for volunteers and first responders empower others to bring the gift of barbecue relief when disaster strikes their neighborhoods. Thanks to those volunteers, Operation BBQ Relief can respond immediately with dozens of meal service sites across multiple states.

Within a day or two of Helene, 20+ service sites operated in devastated towns throughout North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. When Milton crossed Florida a few days later, Operation BBQ Relief was simultaneously serving meals in Florida cities like Tampa, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg.

Alongside disaster recovery efforts, the organization operates Camp OBR, a retreat designed to support recovery for military veterans and their families, as well as first responders. There, outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, hunting, ATV adventures, water sports – and of course barbecue! – help heal hidden wounds and rebuild weakened bonds.

In July, a fire caused a setback at Camp OBR. However, the organization’s initial mission to serve hot meals and offer comfort in the wake of disaster continues to provide fulfillment and focus.

“When you know that people have lost somebody or lost their home, that emotion is so raw,” he says. “Whenever I get down and question what we’re doing, I used to think of the little old lady in Joplin who sat there crying, just wanting to thank somebody for a pulled pork sandwich.”

“But now I think about making a place that people can come to unload some of the burden off themselves … give them a little comfort, give them some life skills around grilling and BBQ, give them a little respite here in nature … It makes you excited about what we do and reminds you how BBQ changes lives.”

OBR is always looking for volunteers to help.

Read more about Operation BBQ Relief in the Low & Slow Barbecue Show Blog.

Follow Operation BBQ Relief on Instagram to learn about the latest disaster relief efforts.

Recovery in areas affected by Helene and Milton will be a long road, and Operation BBQ Relief continues to provide a critical lifeline. Please consider supporting their efforts with a donation or by exploring ways you can volunteer. 

Michael “Chigger” Willard
Founder, The Low & Slow Barbecue Show