Operation BBQ Relief serves 70,000 meals to Horry County Schools students

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Chefs from different parts of South Carolina have spent the past couple of weeks in Myrtle Beach to make sure students at Horry County Schools don’t go hungry during this global health crisis.

Operation BBQ Relief has provided 70,000 meals to students during those past two weeks.

“When tragedy happens, being able to come in and help other communities is really important," said the chef and owner of Lucky Rooster Kitchen and Bar, Clayton Rollison.

Rollison made the decision to close down his restaurant, Lucky Rooster Kitchen and Bar in Hilton Head Island, for a few weeks during the coronavirus, but he didn’t stop cooking.

“We’ve provided about 7,000 plus meals a day for breakfast and lunch for the Horry County School district,” said Rollison.

Rollison, his twelve employees and some employees from another restaurant called Fish, start cooking the meals for families in need at 6:45 a.m. and sometimes don’t finish till 11:00 at night.

And while they are preparing the meals for the next day, another group has joined in with Operation BBQ Relief to help with the delivery process.

“That’s what we’re there for, is to help the community and everything," said Army National Guard Sgt. Stephen Lear. "When a hurricane strikes or a pandemic strikes, that’s what the National Guard is there for.”

The 70,000 meals delivered to Horry County School families over the course of 10 days is just a small chunk of Operation BBQ Relief's national impact.

“They’ve served about a million meals so far since the pandemic started, and since the beginning of OBR, it’s four million meals nationwide, so it’s a pretty substantial undertaking with these guys," said Rollison.

Operation BBQ Relief prepared its last set of meals Thursday, and then Horry County Schools will start its new food program on Monday called “Meals to You”.

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