//Upstate Chef John Malik Heads to Louisiana to Feed Hurricane Laura Victims & First Responders

Upstate Chef John Malik Heads to Louisiana to Feed Hurricane Laura Victims & First Responders

Imagine a massive storm has barreled through your neighborhood, your town, your state. The power is out for many miles, your tap water isn’t safe to drink, and the roads are littered with the detritus of mother nature’s wrath. Without any power your fresh food has spoiled so you’re feeding your family by heating up ramen on a charcoal grill. And it could be a week or more before power is restored and the water is safe.

And this is the situation for your friends and neighbors within a 50-mile radius. The Red Cross is on the way as are a host of smaller volunteer teams from churches and civic organizations.

There’s so many hungry mouths, though. The linemen from various power and utility companies are responding in force as are law enforcement from neighboring states. What organization can respond in kind to the needs of so many hungry souls that just want a hot meal?Operation BBQ Relief and The Salvation Army.

I met the guys from Operation BBQ perhaps ten years ago at the NC BBQ Championships in Tryon. They were a group of BBQ enthusiasts with a desire to help those in need through their cooking. They started small by responding in their community and as word spread, so did their organization.

Today they are one of the few groups that can respond en masse when disaster strikes. And I’m a proud OBR volunteer. This morning I’m headed to Lake Charles, LA to spend a week cooking with OBR in my home state.

Hurricane Laura dealt a massive blow to this town near the Louisiana Texas border and their power grid has been crippled. We’ll cook huge quantities of proteins, the Salvation Army will handle the sides then shuttle it to a dozen or so satellite kitchens set up across the area.

How to Help

I’ll report in full in the middle of the week and if you’d like to make a donation to OBR, text “donateobr” to 41444.