AUSTIN (KXAN) — “The least we could do is feed them,” Chef Jack Allen Gilmore said.
Gilmore, the owner of Jack Allen’s Kitchen, along with dozens of volunteers, served meals to more than 600 hungry mouths waiting in line Tuesday morning at Camp Mabry in Austin.
His local restaurant served food to those who serve us year-round — the military — specifically Texas National Guard soldiers, less than a week after Veterans Day.
It’s the fourth time Jack Allen’s Kitchen is saying “thank you” in the form of free meals.
“We tirelessly have been working all night putting out a great meal for an incredible cause. We really believe in the military and what they do,” Gilmore said.
They took precautions with the pandemic this year, also changing the format from sit-down to meals-to-go.
“Wearing a mask nowadays is kinda part of being normal so we wanna take that normalcy and just have fun with it and do it right, and that’s really what matters. We’re all in this together. We’re learning as we go but it takes food to really bring it all back together and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Gilmore said.
The soldiers savored a menu featuring prime-rib style wood-fired NY strip, roasted and shredded local Holmes chicken, country-style ham, charro BBQ beans, JAK Slaw and more.
Gilmore along with his kitchen family, Salt Traders Coastal Kitchen team members and other volunteers prepared the food. Each thanked the troops walking past the tables.
Staff Sergeant San Juanita Escobar was one of the 600 who waited in line to get her meal. She has served 13 years in the Texas Army National Guard and has been at Camp Mabry for the past three. This isn’t her first meal with Jack Allen’s.
“The past two we normally sit down and eat with different coworkers…. it’s the same just now it’s a to-go order,” Escobar said. “I’m probably gonna eat the chicken. That’s one of my favorite go-to’s.”
The event means a lot to her, especially as a veteran who served overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2009-2010.
“It’s always Texans serving Texans so it’s great to be a part of the communities all throughout the state that help with different events like this, and it’s always humbling and appreciated for all the support that we’re given,” Escobar said. “It’s just something I truly appreciate to be able to share with all my brothers and sisters in arms.”
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Staff Sergeant Escobar posed for a picture as a line of her fellow soldiers received meals (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) -
The “T” on her combat badge stands for Texas (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey)
Gilmore purposely holds the event between Veterans Day and Thanksgiving as a way of honoring the spirit of the entire month.
“It’s easy to take what they do for granted and we do. But it’s that one time of the year where we feel like we need to give back and we want to give back. It just means a lot personally and it means a lot as our restaurant family to do it and right now is a perfect time to be doing it.”
The fourth annual ‘Thank You For Your Service’ Day event ran from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Central Texas military installation.
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