A team of Mountaire employees helped people in the Lake Charles, Louisiana, area hard hit recently by Hurricane Laura. The company sent 40,000 pounds of chicken to assist Operation BBQ Relief, a non-profit group of competitive barbecue chefs that deploy to disaster areas to provide hot meals.

The Mountaire Cares team has been on the ground at a site set up in Lake Charles, an area that was pummeled by 130-150 mph winds as the storm came ashore. Power lines littered the highways while homes became uninhabitable after trees toppled on them and roofs were ripped off.

Operation BBQ Relief, made up largely of volunteers, arrived on site just hours after the storm passed to prepare bulk meals for first responders, other volunteers helping to clean up, and those displaced by the storm.

On Thursday, the daily meal count the group prepared and distributed had climbed to 24,000 as more and more groups signed up for help. Groups served include the Salvation Army, the Cajun Navy and Army, local police fire and rescue units, area churches and many more.

“Mountaire Farms have supported Operation BBQ Relief for several years,” said Stan Hayes, CEO of Operation BBQ Relief. “The contribution of fresh chicken has allowed Operation BBQ Relief to serve the one hot meal that matters to thousands of people affected by Hurricane Laura. We are thankful that Mountaire Farms is supporting our needs with their fresh chicken for our team to cook.”   

About Mountaire

Mountaire is a registered trademark of Mountaire Corporation. Mountaire Corporation and its affiliates, Mountaire Farms Inc. and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc. (collectively, “Mountaire”), are agricultural food production and processing companies providing work for almost 10,000 people at facilities in Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Mountaire is a privately owned company with a commitment to the communities in which our employees work and live.