Couple Hopes to Inspire With Barbecue for Louisiana Flood Victims

17352432

Christian Dornhorst(BATON ROUGE, La.) — A Louisiana couple who served barbecue to flood victims is urging others to pay it forward.

Christian Dornhorst of Port Allen, told ABC News that he and his wife, Amanda, spent $1,840 on food for their two-day barbecue event, and want to inspire others to help those affected by the catastrophic flooding in the state.

“The attention needs to be on this,” Dornhorst said. “Number one, we need to thank all the people that pulled together in the city. The need isn’t over. We need to remember that the fight for these people has just begun. There’s sheet rock that needs to be ripped down, power that needs to be restored…there’s so much that’s going on right now.”

Dornhorst was at work Monday when he decided he’d host a barbecue for the flood victims.

Knowing there was a shortage of food in the area, Dornhorst, an army veteran, asked local grocery stores to set aside the meat they had in stock for his barbecue.

Dornhorst filled 110 coolers with chicken, beef, sausage and 108 pounds of brisket, smoking the meat for five hours. Dornhorst’s employer has offered to reimburse him for all the food he purchased for the cookout, he said.

The barbecue was brought to Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge, where the husband and wife duo shared a tent with law enforcement who were cooking a giant vat of homemade chicken noodle soup.

“It’s been an amazing community effort,” said Patrick Mulhearn, executive director of Celtic Studios.” Baton Rouge has never been more unified. There was a point where it took hours to drop off donations because the outpouring was overwhelming and that’s typical of people in south Louisiana. We find comfort in food.”

The Dornhorsts helped feed 3,000 hungry people that day.

Amanda Dornhorst wrote to ABC News that what her family did was “part of a larger movement” and she is urging others to provide aid to evacuees in Louisiana or “get involved in their own community.”

The day after the barbecue, the Dornhorsts returned to the Celtic Media Centre and served military and police officers who were assisting the victims.

The couple plans on continuing their relief efforts for the foreseeable future.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.