GILMER, Texas — An East Texas grocery store, Brookshire's is helping those impacted by the tornado by making sure they have a hot meal for the day at News Beginnings Church in Gilmer.
They're continuing the city's efforts to ensure nobody is helpless in their time of need.
"The thing that I love about Brookshire's is they didn't ask us to come to them, Brookshire's came to us," Matt Darby, Pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Gilmer said. "That's a true heart of generosity to say we were going to go to where the need is greatest."
Showing that their “community kitchen” made up by employees and partners can make a difference.
Brookshire's not only offered hot meals to those in need, but to all volunteers as well.
"Today, we're giving sausage on the stick. We've got Hawaiian rolls, we've got chips, we've got drinks, we've got apple pie and muffins for the community," Joseph Stephens, District Vice President of Brookshire's said.
As a family-owned business, Brookshire grocery company understands the impact a community can have in recovery efforts.
"Throughout the last two days, the operation we've had anywhere from rounding up cows, doing welfare checks, to assessing damages in certain areas," Andy Taylor, operations volunteer said. "But the big things we've been doing is timber removal, tree removal, helping people get into their driveways."
Showing that it takes a whole team’s contribution to get this done, so having a grocery giant like Brookshire's join the efforts makes for a huge difference.
"We've been overwhelmed," Darby said. "It's one of the things that makes living in East Texas such a blessing."
Across the parking lot from the community kitchen, Debra Britt with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief put her team on wheels. They use mobile showers and sleep in bunks so they can respond as quickly as possible and stay as long as they’re needed.
“This is our quick response units. It has the capacity to feed about 700 meals a day or so,” said Debra.
Billy Ray Hollis wasn’t hit badly by the tornadoes so he’ll use his meal to refuel before he’s back out on the ground helping his neighbors.
Hollis said, “I'm gonna take my saw and stuff and try to help them cut some of the stuff on the ground.”
Upshur County continues to see several organizations make their way up to aid those impacted by the tornado. Showing that if anyone is out there and needs help, you’re not too far from it.
If you're looking to volunteer with New Beginnings Church in Gilmer you can visit their website.