NEHUNTA, Ga. – Two food truck owners showed up Wednesday afternoon with free meals for anyone who needed one, as wildfires continued to force mandatory evacuations across Brantley County.
The fire has spread to 5,000 acres and is only 10% contained, according to an update received Wednesday afternoon.
Tacos Del Ranchito and Shelby and Shane’s Country Cooking set up in the Nehunta City Hall parking lot, serving displaced families and first responders at no charge.
Rosa Cosco, co-owner of Tacos Del Ranchito, runs the Jesup-based taco truck with her father. She knows many people affected by the fires.
“We figured the best way to help is to come out and feed the community and all of our first responders,” Cosco said.
For Cosco, the cost was not a barrier.
“Honestly, God has blessed us with so much stuff. Giving out a couple of tacos isn’t going to break us,” she said. “Because we make everything ourselves, it’s not costing us a lot to give out tacos.”
Shelby Drummond, owner of Shelby and Shane’s Country Cooking, drove from Waycross. She used to live in Brantley County and also knows people affected by the fires — and she had a personal reason to give back.
“I just woke up this morning feeling like we needed to help in some way,” Drummond said.
Her motivation goes deeper than instinct.
“I had a house fire on Christmas Day a few years ago, and Brantley County really came together and helped me and my family,” she said. “So it’s only right that I give back to them today.”
Myrle Hill and Madison Slaughter stopped by to get a plate. They have family affected by the fires.
“All the community is stepping up to help everyone,” Hill said. “The firefighters need it most. They are out there fighting the fire. They need everything they can get.”
Jerry Cooper, a lifelong Nehunta resident, also stopped by. He described Nehunta as a gathering point for people displaced from surrounding areas.
“It’s beautiful because we are like a little safe haven here,” Cooper said. “All the people come here to stay safe. And then we got people — earlier today, we had a place up on 82 that had meals they gave out. So the community and the people is coming here to help out our community. It’s beautiful and God bless.”
For the food truck owners, the reward was simple.
“To be able to feed people and watch people walk away happy with a plate of tacos — that’s all we really need,” Cosco said.
Drummond echoed that sentiment.
“It just feels really good to be able to help the community again,” she said.
We have a list of resources in this article.