Page 11 - MAY 2020 Barbecue News Magazine

BBQ HERO TRIBUTES
When our Neighbors are Hungry
— Local Heroes Fire Up the Grills
Once in a lifetime, an Easter — a CoronaVirus Pandemic — and a Love Story comes along, and it's just too big to cover with words ... or with enough photos.
This is that once-in-a-lifetime for us. We have witnessed thou- sands who BECAME A HERO in the past
few weeks. Those who stayed at home,
taught children, headed up campaigns to
feed those in need, those who figured out how to worship together/apart this Easter, those who cared for the sick, and all the others who did the thousands of essential jobs that were done in spite of circum- stances!
Let's begin with just one of the thousands of stories from across America and the world. It doesn't take long for out-of-work family members to realize
By: Carlene Phelps
to adopt another family with needs and hundreds have been adopted. The first food pick-up was on a Friday afternoon and they utilized two local automobile dealerships where people pulled thru and picked up plates. The lines were long and the 1100 plates ran out quickly.
Derek and Jason could not bear to send anyone away without food so they pur- chased food certificates from local restau- rants and those in line picked up plates. This inspired folks to fire up their grills and make plates to add to the barbecue plates they were preparing. Carl McLemore (yep, from Decatur, AL), whose wife works at the Chrysler dealership, arranged to cook 140 hotdog plates with all the trim- mings and had them ready for one of the pick-ups. The virus is catching ... but so is
there is no money for gro- ceries. This happened in the little Southeast Georgia town of St. Marys where Derek Bunk- ley's Second Skin Tattoo Shop was ordered closed in March. He began receiving calls from concerned people who knew him — as he has acquired quite a reputation. Several months ago he chaired a campaign and raised over $10,000 to pay off the school lunch debt for fami- lies here in Camden County. And ... when asked to help, he said "Yes".
Jason “Hippie Rupert
Derek “Tattoo” Bunkley
giving and sharing! (Pictures of food and cooks and sharing began to blow up the Facebook pages and the rest is history — barbecuers are feeding the hungry. It's like Operation BBQ Relief duplicated all across the country.
This has gone on for several weeks and "Tattoo Derek" and his friend "Hippie Jason" have totally partnered up and realiz- ing that this situation was get- ting the best of everyone have taken it one step further. They have partnered with a local church and began a food
pantry where families, or those as- sisting families, can pick up gro- ceries and other needs at the pantry. They will still be doing some meals but will be furnishing food for many families to cook for them- selves. The donation of meats has sent them in search of freezers where many were found sitting in garages.
Yes, the CoronaVirus has been dev- astating to our life as we know it but it has also brought us together
Since then, he and a fellow fund-
raising hippie, Jason Rupert, began
two Facebook pages and quickly
had 5-6,000 meals weekly to share
with those in need. There was only
one criteria, "If you are hungry and
need food, come and get it! And if
you can't come, call us and we'll
bring it to you — no questions
asked!" Everyone who had a grill,
including restaurants and food
trucks, joined in and continue to
cook hundreds of Boston Butts and
other meats with many restaurants
and citizens providing sides. Derek's fundraiser FB page is SAVE OUR BUTTS and the other page for volunteers is Camden curb- side. Jason's FB Page is CAMDEN-ADOPT where families sign up
as a nation, as a town, as a community, and as a neighbor. People helping people because enough of us have not forgotten how to do this! THANK YOU ... to each of our BBQ and other HEROES!
MAY 2020
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