Operation BBQ Relief brings hope to Florida residents after hurricanes Helene and Milton

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A disaster response group coming from Kansas City has had boots on the ground in Florida since Hurricane Helene.

The Operation BBQ Relief (OBR) crew in Tallahassee is now waiting for the OK to pack everything up and head down south to the Tampa Bay area to give their much-needed hope and relief to residents who are struggling after Hurricane Milton.

“We want to get in fast, because that’s when people need food the most,” said Thomas.

Emlyn Thomas, with Operation BBQ Relief says his crew was originally in Tampa before Milton but were forced to evacuate until it was safe.

“We packed up everything from that warehouse, all of our equipment that was down there, we brought it up to Tallahassee to wait out the storm, and now we are getting set to redeploy to the Tampa area site. It’s just a matter of where we can do the most good the fastest,” said Thomas.

During these recovery efforts, some Florida residents are living through the most difficult times of their lives, and the OBR crew said they pray they can provide just a little bit of hope.

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