From Kansas City pitmasters to national heroes

By Kristina Light

When an EF5 tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, it killed 161 people and reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble. Traditional relief efforts struggled to keep pace with the devastation.

Stan Hays, an insurance agent from Pleasant Hill who participated in local barbecue competitions on weekends, watched the news coverage with a growing sense of helplessness. His wife, Amy, asked, “Why not gather your barbecue friends and go feed people?” The next morning, Hays called his mentor, Jeff Stith, who immediately agreed. Stith posted on social media and started recruiting.

Will Cleaver, a Blue Springs pitmaster who had competed against Hays and Stith but didn’t know them personally, saw the post. He had connections to Joplin from his college days and was inspired to join the effort.

What began as a spontaneous response would reshape disaster relief across America.

Within days, barbecue teams from eight states converged on Joplin with their smokers and supplies. For 13 days straight, volunteers slept in their trucks and tended their pits, serving hot meals to grieving families, emergency responders, and relief workers. By the time they left, they had served 120,000 meals.

That effort became Operation BBQ Relief, a Kansas City-based nonprofit that has grown into one of the nation’s fastest-responding disaster relief organizations. After returning from Joplin, the men formally established the organization that believes in “the healing power of barbecue.” Today, Hays serves as CEO and Cleaver as Chief People Officer.

Growing Beyond Disaster Response

Since 2011, Operation BBQ Relief has served nearly 13 million meals across 42 states and in the Bahamas and Jamaica. The organization typically mobilizes teams within 24 to 48 hours of a disaster, arriving with mobile kitchens, smokers, bunkers for volunteers to sleep in, and enough supplies to serve thousands of meals daily.

In addition to disaster relief, the organization has taken on additional projects. The Always Serving Project feeds vulnerable communities year-round. Their newest initiative, Camp OBR, transformed nearly 200 acres near the Lake of the Ozarks into a retreat specifically designed for military members, veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families. The Lincoln, Missouri, facility combines culinary experiences with outdoor adventures—hiking, fishing, ATV rides, and boating. Participants cook alongside award-winning pitmasters, using food as a bridge to connection and healing.

The 2024 hurricane season tested the organization’s capacity like never before. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, volunteers served more than 1.3 million meals in 34 days across five states—one of the most intense responses in the organization’s history.

The Kansas City Model

Operation BBQ Relief operates from multiple warehouses across the nation, including its headquarters in Peculiar, Missouri, just outside Kansas City. When disaster strikes, caravans of smokers and mobile kitchens roll out, often arriving before larger relief organizations can mobilize. Volunteers serve a standardized meal that is hot, delicious, and provided free of charge at every distribution site.

The volunteer network includes everyone from high school students to seasoned pitmasters, all united by a common purpose.

“It isn’t just about BBQ,” said Cathryn Farley of OBR. “It is about bringing comfort, dignity, and hope when everything else was lost.”

For Kansas City, a city that claims the title of Barbecue Capital of the World, Operation BBQ Relief represents something deeper than culinary pride. The organization channels the region’s barbecue tradition into tangible service, embodying that trademark Midwest Nice ethos of showing up when things get hard.

Local barbecue teams regularly volunteer for deployments. Area businesses provide supplies and funding. The region has embraced the organization as proof that Kansas City’s greatest contribution isn’t just great barbecue—it’s the compassion that goes into every meal.

A Blueprint for the Future

As the frequency and intensity of natural disasters continue to increase, organizations like Operation BBQ Relief have become essential partners in emergency response. The model they’ve developed—nimble, volunteer-driven, and focused on immediate human needs—offers a blueprint for effective disaster relief that complements traditional aid organizations.

But the core mission remains beautifully simple: a hot meal offers comfort when everything else has fallen apart. In that pulled pork sandwich handed over with a smile, disaster survivors find a moment of normalcy and a reminder that someone cares.

It’s a promise the organization has kept for nearly 14 years and 13 million meals, one plate at a time.

To learn more about Operation BBQ Relief and how to support the effort, visit OperationBBQRelief.org.