BARNSDALL, Okla. — The American Red Cross served free hot meals to the Barnsdall community in partnership with the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
Many Red Cross crews made their way from Sulphur and Marietta to Barnsdall to provide disaster relief. 2 News went along as volunteers Lori and Pat Loney handed out the meals to volunteers, storm victims and other workers.
It's an operation the team had down. Lori said they pack the meals, drive to the disaster area and just go.
Within the first hour, 100 of the 150 meals were gone. Many people jumped at the opportunity for the free meals, most overwhelmed with gratitude.
"You see the destruction and you feel for everybody affected and you can't help but do that. But you know our mission for the Red Cross is to alleviate suffering," said Lori.
This is not the first disaster site the couple helped. They went to Florida after Hurricane Ian and worked a few other sites since they started in 2020.
This is their retirement job. It's one that when duty calls they put other things on hold. They postponed a trip once they started to see the tornadoes in Oklahoma.
Their dedication to this work is not going unnoticed by the community.
"It really means a lot for everybody. All of our staff up here helping the nursing home. We have been up here since the tornado happened, trying to recover as much of the resident's belongings as possible and the food really helps," said to Barnsdall residents.
All it took was a Facebook post to encourage Lori and Pat to start volunteering. They said a motivating aspect is the positivity present in these communities.
"What we find is people are more worried about their neighbors and making sure they're taken care of," said Lori.
The duo will be in Barnsdall for the next several days handing out food.
In Pawhuska, the Osage County Fairgrounds is where the American Red Cross is being headquartered. They are offering shelter, food and water. The Osage Nation is also offering support.
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