Santa Rosa Native Guy Fieri Feeds NorCal Evacuees With Barbecue Truck
Guy Fieri has been visiting local emergency shelters in the Northern California counties that have been devastated by recent and still raging fires. Fieri and his team brought a mobile barbecue unit to cook for evacuees, volunteers, first responders, and even the military at a Santa Rosa emergency shelter in the Veterans Memorial Building parking lot.
Fieri, a native Santa Rosan, lives near the Coffey Park neighborhood and evacuated with his family before the fire ripped through the area, destroying much of it. Fieri has returned however to take care of his community the best way that he knows how: by feeding them.
"I called the Salvation Army in Santa Rosa and I said, 'I'm ready, I've got an army, I'm ready to help,'" Fieri told local news station KQED. "And they said, 'Bring it.'"
And bring it he did. The Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives star estimated that he and his team fed around 1,200 for lunch on October 12 and that by dinner time they would have fed 2,500.
"This isn't a PR stunt," He told KQED about feeding the displaced and volunteers. "You don't see my banners up. I'm not promoting anything. I'm just here cooking. This is feeding people. People need help, and I'm here to help. That's it."
Fieri is not the only chef kicking it into high gear to help the devastated area. Chef Dominique Crenn called for volunteers on Twitter to join her at Petit Crenn to make sandwiches or bring bread and cheese donations to be delivered to the affected areas.
Please read the post and join us at 10am at Petit Crenn to prep the food for the fire victims pic.twitter.com/3McmXElypQ
— dominique crenn (@dominiquecrenn) October 10, 2017
The Alembic's executive chef Rachel Aronow announced via Facebook that she will be driving up food, blankets, clothing, medical supplies, and pet food to victims of the Tubbs and Atlas fires via donations made to the restaurant. She also has a personal connection to the tragedy, as the farm she grew up on was sadly destroyed.
If you are interested in donating, GoFundMe has launched a campaign for those affected by the Northern California wildfires. To donate, click here.
The Daily Meal will continue to update this story with any new information.