In a viral social media video boasting over seven million views, a generous man is known as Jim brought his grill to the streets of Mayfield, Kentucky, where he served food and water to victims of the recent deadly tornado.
Victor Ordoñez, a journalist for ABC News, uploaded the clip to his Twitter page earlier this week.
Standing in front of destroyed buildings with his grill and gloves on hand, Jim states in the video, “I know they don’t have no electricity, so that means they have no electric, no restaurants, no running water. So, I just figured I’d do what I can do: show up with some food and some water.”
This man drove half an hour with a grill and a truckload of food and parked right in the middle of #Mayfield, Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/xrVbrMdJ9S
— Victor Ordoñez (@TheOrdonezTimes) December 12, 2021
Listing the food that was available in a second clip, Jim said that he had hamburgers, chicken, sausages and eggs, adding, “Just little simple stuff that you can have and not have to worry about making a mess. Grab and go type of food.” A native of Paducah, Kentucky, he continued that although he doesn’t own a restaurant, he felt that helping his local community in their time of need “just needed to be done.”
Jim wore a smile the whole morning, we laugh when I asked if he had a restaurant. He shook his head, “it just needed to be done,” he said. pic.twitter.com/tpZ1LMvdOA
— Victor Ordoñez (@TheOrdonezTimes) December 13, 2021
Last weekend, a powerful tornado ravaged the Midwest and the South– fatally impacting communities in Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas. According to NBC News, Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, confirmed on Monday that at least 74 people in the state lost their lives in the disaster, with over 100 people left unaccounted for.
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On Friday night, Dec. 10, a candle manufacturer in Mayfield was destroyed when a tornado struck the building, leaving eight people dead and eight others missing. Many survivors from that evening have since filed a lawsuit against Mayfield Consumer Products with claims that the company displayed a “flagrant indifference” to their safety.
Investigations into the incident have been launched by Mayfield Consumer Products and the state of Kentucky.
