Operation BBQ Relief to end operations Sunday

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A number of organizations have come to the Cape Fear to help people impacted by Hurricane Florence like “Operation BBQ Relief.”

It has been hard work helping thousands of people get hot food, but as much as they love helping their time here is running out.

Operation BBQ Relief will end operations in Wilmington Sunday.

They have given out more than 260,000 meals.

Organizers say the one thing that stands out from Wilmington is the number of people from the area who have stepped up to help those impacted by the storm.

“It’s always amazing to me that the community, how many volunteers come out to help each other and Wilmington has been probably the biggest single volunteer base that we had from the community that we’ve ever had,” Relief Site Coordinator John Wheeler said. “These guys came out to help their neighbor and you talk to people and their house is underwater and they’re still out here helping us cook because they’re saying ‘there’s nothing I can do there. Just gotta wait till the water goes down.'”

Wheeler also says the volunteers were a big reason why they were able to get bulk orders of food to some of the farther out areas.