KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Recovery efforts continue for the millions of people suffering from the devastation left by Hurricane's Helene and Milton.
One Kansas City group has been in Florida for weeks, serving hot meals after the back-to-back hurricanes.
With the destruction ranging from Florida to Appalachia, local non-profit Operation BBQ Relief hit a new record with its efforts.
"We're here to serve, at the end of the day, that one hot meal that matters," Co-founder and CEO Stan Hays said. "It just may be today, it went out almost 59,000 times."
Operation BBQ Relief has been passing out plates of what Kansas City is known for in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The group served out a record 59,000 meals across the relief sites on Monday.
"I can't do a lot. I can't help them find a house, I can't help them get shelter necessarily," Hays said. "But I can make sure that they can have a good, comforting hot meal."
Nearly 600,000 meals have gone out since Hurricane Helene hit in September.
100,000 meals have been served during Hurricane Milton relief efforts in the last few days.
"We've never had four locations doing the number of meals that we've done," Hays said. "Our warehouse has never been so bare."
The group didn't lose any equipment when Milton hit while relief efforts were underway for damages from Helene in Florida.
Operation BBQ Relief evacuated from Tampa, but returned on Thursday night to keep feeding those in need.
Hays said Kansas City partner companies National Beef, Seaboard Foods and Ferrell Gas helped Operation BBQ Relief restock to meet the high demand for meals.
"That to me is one of the greatest things that you see in humanity," Hays said. "Coming together as neighbors helping neighbors, and that's something that never gets old."
But their work is far from over.
Operation BBQ Relief plans to stay in Florida throughout October.
The organization's greatest need right now is more helping hands.
"I would trade dollars for volunteers today so we didn't tax everybody on the ground so much," Hays said.
Any form of support is welcome, whether its putting pork sandwiches together at a disaster site or spreading the word online.
"Get on your own social media and share with your friends and family the work that we're doing, the needs that we have," Hays said. "Because as a community, working together, we can do so much more than we can divided."
You can learn more about volunteering with Operation BBQ Relief here or find out how to donate here.
KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
