When wildfires broke out on the island of Maui in Hawaii on August 8, 2023, it was never a question of if Operation BBQ Relief would respond, but when. Sending a disaster response team to an island was uniquely challenging. Normally we deploy with an extensive arsenal of equipment, volunteers, and bunkhouses, setting up a small city to provide meals to the displaced, first responders, and relief workers. In Maui, we worked through the kitchens of local restaurants – Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse, Merriman’s Hawaii, and Monkeypod Kitchen. Our small team of 9 volunteers stayed in the homes of generous Maui residents.
Our deployment to Maui was a collaborative and rewarding effort alongside the resilient people and small businesses of Maui. These relationships allowed us to amplify and support their efforts to provide hot meals and hope to their community. In total, we provided 33,523 meals to the people of Maui.
