On April 13, 2019, Operation BBQ Relief began cooking and serving The One Hot Meal That Matters hours after a tornado hit Franklin and Alto. Within a severe tornado outbreak that affected the Eastern United States, the high-end EF3 tornado that struck Franklin and Alto was the most severe. This deployment was a particularly heartfelt experience because Franklin is the hometown of Chris Huggings, who was in charge of logistics for Operation BBQ Relief. His first-hand knowledge of the town proved invaluable during this deployment. Operation BBQ volunteers loaded hot BBQ meals onto Salvation Army canteen trucks for distribution and took meals out into the community to reach those without the means to get to the canteens.