In conjunction with AmVets Post 292 and Veterans for a Purpose, Pensacola family-owned business Costello’s Butcher Shop is stepping up to help feed over 800 non-essential personnel evacuated from Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay this week to Naval Air Station Pensacola due to Hurricane Melissa.
The evacuated group sent to NAS Pensacola on Oct. 25 and 26 was made up of family members, contractors, civilian employees and pets who are now lodged at NAS Pensacola’s Navy Lodge and Navy Inn.
NAS Pensacola has not released a timeline on just how long the evacuees will need Pensacola’s support, simply stating they will be in Pensacola “as long as they need to stay here,” according to a statement from Naval Air Station Public Affairs Office Bruce Cummins on Thursday afternoon.
“They’re part of our Navy family and the NAS Pensacola staff is proud to offer assistance to the service members, civilian employees, family members and contractors impacted by this non-mission essential personnel movement,” NAS Pensacola’s statement continued.
Costello’s owner, Christie Costello, received word from Veterans for a Purpose Founder Christopher Faber two days ago that they would need help distributing meals and snacks to stock the hotel rooms of the evacuees. By Thursday, they had two trucks’ worth of food.
“I will 100% tell you, I was one of those people that needed help at one point, and I realized how big this community really does come together,” Faber said. “Because when I needed it, it came together. It really did, like we had food, we had bills that we couldn’t pay, I’ve been that person before… This is part of why I started doing this, and why I believe a lot of us started doing this.”
Tom Horton, commander of AmVets Post 292, said that knowing the evacuees people had to quickly pack a bag and catch a flight, they wanted to ensure their basic needs were being taken care of in addition to other acts of support on base.
Costello was prepared for a mission of this size, as she had been providing free meals to children since 2020 through her non-profit, the Kimberly Tauer Foundation, which was established to uplift and empower women and children. Ever since, children have always had a sack lunch available to them at Costello’s, with no questions asked. Over 500,000 free lunches have been distributed at an estimated cost of over $1 million.
Faber said he has heard stories of students who were too embarrassed to talk about being hungry stopping in to see Costello before their football practice across the street, and knew he could count on her to help feed the families on base.
“Whatever we’re doing, she has been doing it for years. (Costello) is the role model here,” Faber said.
“I think that it’s a good thing we started in 2020 when COVID (hit) because it streamlined us for purposes like this,” Costello added. “I know how to do it now. I’m able to help and direct in a different way.”
The experience helped her to spring immediately into action when Hurricane Melissa hit, calculating the materials she would need to feed 847 evacuees breakfast, lunch and snacks. While she said she spent about $2,500 on supplies, the community also showed up in support of their mission, donating non-perishable items the evacuees could prepare in their hotel rooms, including macaroni and cheese cups, canned soups and more.
On Oct. 30, Costello and her team, including volunteers from the United States Coast Guard, loaded the trucks with food headed to the USO for distribution on NAS Pensacola.
Faber and Horton also got to grilling on Oct. 29, preparing over 1,000 hot dogs and hamburgers for free for evacuees, which they hope to do again on Nov. 1, cooking up about 120 pounds worth of barbecue.
“The correlation amongst how close a community can be is just amazing to me, and how people can come together. And not days, but just hours, things can get put together,” Faber said.
Non-perishable food items are still being accepted as donations at AmVets Post 292 at 955 Dog Track Road and Costello’s Butcher Shop at 8190 W. Fairfield Drive. Any unused items will be distributed to help the Pensacola community, ensuring they won’t go to waste, according to Costello.
“These families will go back home… but these donations, if you keep bringing them in, we’re going to be able to hand this stuff out for the SNAP benefits,” Faber said. “So I’m looking at a bigger operation than what we just got going on here.”
For more real-time updates and information, follow Costello’s Butcher Shop, Deli, Fine Wine and Cheeses on social media.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Costello’s Butcher Shop floods evacuees at NAS Pensacola with meals and snacks
Reporting by Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
