Archive for month: November, 2012

Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. While it was a Category 2 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with winds spanning 1100 miles).

Preliminary estimates assess damage at nearly $75 billion, a total surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina. At least 285 people were killed along the path of the storm in seven countries. The severe and widespread damage the storm caused in the United States, as well as its unusual merge with a frontal system, resulted in the nicknaming of the hurricane by the media and several organizations of the U.S. government “Superstorm Sandy”.

Hurricane Sandy slammed into the US Northeast Coast on October 29th. Knowing this would be a very large disaster, OBR began shipping supplies to New Jersey ahead of time. The Shedd BBQ & Blues joint even packed up a truck full of supplies and sent it on its way all the way from Mississippi. Once it was safe to do so, on November 3rd, using experience gained in the triple deployment in IL, IN & KS, OBR teams from the surrounding states setup operations in Hoboken & Neptune, NJ, as well as a third site in Manhattan, NY.

At the end of day 1, OBR volunteers had already served 5000 hot meals to displaced residents and first responders. Meal totals quckly shot up in the coming days: 9500 on day two, 8000 on day four, and 9000 on day five.

But things soon took a turn for the worse. Just five days laters, a Nor’Easter hit, bringing with it cold, sleet and snow. While the FEMA location in Brick, NJ put up a sign that they were closed because of the weather, OBR volunteers kept putting out hot meals. Day 5 in New York saw the return of Hogzilla and Cousin Ed from Taylor Farms Smokehouse in Tenessee. At the height of operations, OBR teams were cooking in nine seperate locations in New York & New Jersey, teaming up with other organizations such as Mercy Chef’s and The BBQ Brethren. Once operations wound down to a close 12 days later, OBR volunteers had cooked an incredible 100,200 hot meals for first responders and residents, making Operation Sandy the second largest deplyment behind Joplin. During this time, OBR had received generous donations from 40 states and two countries.

Sponsors:

Main Street Meats, Sal’s Fruit Tree, Clare Rose Distributors, Long Island Firewood, Babylon Village Meat Market, Thermo-King, NEBS, Seventh St Photography, Meat Company NJ, Local Smoke BBQ, Zafar Produce

OBR Participants:

Joe Saccente, Marc Azzarello, Anthony and Laura Kuka-Valois, NJ National Guard, Nina Schenker, Stephen Engler, Squire Rose Group, Diane Srodin Engler, Natalie Torres, Francesca Guido, Gianna Guido, Natalie Rodriguez, Gianna Scardino, Robert Taylor, Robert Marion

BBQ Teams involved included:

Santa Claus, JC’s Barbecue, Blazzin’ Butts, Grill Scouts, Brothers in Smoke, Purple Pork Masters, Cues Your Daddy, Big Barry Q, Mr. Dirts BBQ, Grim Reaper Smokers, Long Island Luau, Out of the Ashes, Baldwin Butt Burners, Buenos Diaz, BBQ Bandit, Smokin’ Irish, Lunchmeat, Ack-Cue, Lazy River BBQ, Dr. Pearls Medicinal Smoke, Chicken Chokers, Guyon Rescue, Three Men and a Baby Back, Tell You What BBQ, Basic BBQ Team, ZBQ, Uncle Jed, Hart Attack, Que and Half Men, Mafia BBQ, Taylor Farms Smokehouse, Jacked Up, Local Smoke, Lakeside, Wilbur’s Revenge, Yabba Dabba Que, The Handsome Devil

We apologize if you or your company is not listed. Things can get crazy during a deployment, and we do the best we can to keep track of all the great volunteers and businesses who help make OBR happen. If you or your company is not listed, please let us know so we can add you to the list. Email us at info@operationbbqrelief.org.