Chef Brandon Owens of The Kitchen By Brandon in London, Kentucky, is partnering with the American Red Cross to serve 700 meals per day throughout his community.
Sivani Babu, American Red Cross
Brandon Owens, owner of The Kitchen By Brandon, never imagined a disaster of this magnitude would hit his community, but when an EF-4 tornado struck London, Kentucky, on May 15, he knew he had to help.
“I remember when the horns went off,” he says of the warning sirens as he recounted the night of the tornado. “To imagine it was actually happening a mile or two away was ... unimaginable.”
The deadly tornado tore through several southeastern Kentucky counties, leaving a 56-mile-long path of destruction, destroying hundreds of homes, and resulting in the deaths of 19 people.
Nearly two weeks later, Owens sits at a table in his restaurant following the busy lunch rush. A handful of diners finish up their meals as the sounds of an active kitchen hang in the air. His daughter sits on his lap as we chat.
Red Cross volunteers deliver meals from The Kitchen By Brandon to neighborhoods devastated by an EF-4 tornado in London, Kentucky.
Nearly two weeks later, Owens sits at a table in his restaurant following the busy lunch rush. A handful of diners finish up their meals as the sounds of an active kitchen hang in the air. His daughter sits on his lap as we chat.
“It’s surreal to think we had a disaster of this size here,” he says. “It was horrific. It ... touched everybody.” Two of Owens’s regulars lost their lives in the tornado and several others lost their homes.
“When people you know lose everything, it hits home. You realize you have no choice but to help,” he says.
So that’s what Owens, his restaurant staff, and his family did. On their own, they began delivering meals in their community. The first day, they served 180 meals, but not too long after, the American Red Cross asked Owens to partner with the Red Cross to ramp up meal delivery. The ask? Seven hundred meals per day. Owens said yes.
“I went to the store,” he says chuckling. He needed to buy groceries because he couldn’t get a truck in with ingredients fast enough for that many meals.
In addition to his restaurant staff, others have been volunteering to help prep food for the meals. “It’s been a lot of us — family and other volunteers.”
Owens, whose grandmother was in the restaurant business and who started his own restauranteur career catering lunches out of his apartment, takes pride in the food he’s serving his community in a time of need.
“We haven’t cut any corners. We serve the same thing we would serve right here in this restaurant.”
“We’re glad to be asked to do it,” Owens says. And as some who provided critical meals and support in the immediate wake of the tornado have begun to leave town, he’s been grateful for the continued support of the Red Cross. “The Red Cross stays behind,” he observed.
As of May 28, nearly two weeks after the tornado struck, more than 120 trained Red Cross disaster responders remain on the ground in Kentucky, providing safe shelter, hot meals, recovery supplies, emotional support, and financial assistance to survivors of the tornado. To date, the Red Cross, with its partners, has served more than 16,000 meals and snacks and has distributed thousands of recovery supplies throughout the affected communities. The Red Cross will continue to support the recovery for weeks and months to come.
Owens is glad to be one of those partners. For the London, Kentucky-born chef, the opportunity to help his community in the way he best knows how has been rewarding.
“It’s great to be able to help out wherever we can,” Owens says. “It’s about the only thing I know how to do is cook. So, that’s what I’ve been doing.”
To support disaster relief efforts and make a financial donation, visit redcross.org.
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