PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – From counting packets to filling boxes, dozens of volunteers and Pinellas Park city employees teamed up to help pack food supplies for Jamaica.
What we know:
The non-profit Operation BBQ Relief packed meals on Thursday at a Pinellas Park warehouse to send to Jamaica so families in need on the island won’t have to worry about food, following the devastating blow from Hurricane Melissa.
READ: Tampa man survives Melissa in Jamaica
“What we’ve packed so far is just over 113,000 meals behind us right now,” said Stan Hays, the CEO and co-founder of Operation BBQ Relief. “We already had another 10,000 to 15,000 that were already packed that we had some with some volunteers beforehand, so that’s what has gone out so far.”
Hays said each box of non-perishable food will feed a family of four for six days. Operation BBQ Relief is a non-profit that helps disaster-impacted communities by typically delivering hot meals, but Hays said this time the need is different.Â
Their volunteers packed them up with help from Pinellas Park city workers from police, firefighters and other departments.
“Totally unexpected to have them come in and the city’s been amazing,” said Hays.
The city said it was a last-minute idea – but a no-brainer.
“We’ve certainly known our rough storms through the past, so to be able to help the families down there it’s really meaningful to everybody here,” said Chris Torello, the media director for the city of Pinellas Park.
About 80 city workers signed up for a shift.
MORE: Tampa non-profit sends two rescue flights to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa to get Americans home
“I’m just happy to be here. As an emergency manager, I see the suffering that people go through,” said Suzanne Boisvert, the emergency manager for the city of Pinellas Park. “I’m behind the scenes. I’m in the EOC. I’m doing all that work. So, I don’t get a chance to come out and do things like this on a regular basis, so it was really a good experience.”
Big picture view:
Boxes were loaded up with chicken, sardines, veggies, snacks and more, then sealed up and ready for pickup.
“One of our truck drivers just took a truck load, a 53-foot semi-truck over to the port in Miami. They’ll be getting there late tonight. They’ll unload it, getting it on the plane,” said Hays.
They are flying the supplies to Kingston and working with other non-profits to deliver the meals on the ground. They’re also watching to see if impacts to air travel from the government shutdown will affect their efforts.
What they’re saying:
Operation BBQ Relief volunteers will keep working to quickly get food where it’s needed. This latest batch is thanks to Pinellas Park.
READ: Polk County ministry gathering supplies to help Jamaica, looking for volunteers
“They really pushed us over the hump coming in today, otherwise we were really going to be scrambling to get the rest of it done,” said Hays.
Operation BBQ Relief said the city workers packed 105 boxes on Thursday, and they will go out to Jamaica on Friday. The city of Pinellas Park said they brought with them 1,500 MREs from their supply to help feed families on the island.
What you can do:
Operation BBQ Relief said they will need to make hundreds more boxes over the weekend to fill with food. Their goal is to pack 200,000 meals next week. If you want to sign up for a volunteer shift, you can visit www.operationbbqrelief.org.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo, who spoke with Pinellas Park city employees and the CEO of Operation BBQ Relief.