Friday, April 19, 2024
HARD AT WORK: James Brock, owner of Brock's, and volunteer Kami Kemp work together to create 200 tacos on Monday.
TACO TIME: Kami Kemp delivers six tacos to their first customer of the day, an Air Force veteran who showed up bright and early Monday morning to get tacos for members of his family who were still sleeping.
SERVING UP DELICIOUSNESS: The 200 breakfast tacos contained 300 eggs, 200 tortillas, 20 pounds of sausages and 25 cups of cheese. James Brock and volunteers Kami Kemp and Gary Newell got started at the break of dawn to get 200 breakfast tacos ready by 7 a.m. Monday morning.
In the dark of dawn, James Brock spooned dollops of sausage, egg and cheese into small round tortillas. A volunteer, Kami Kemp, then wrapped the still-hot taco in foil.
This quiet assembly line inside the Brock’s Food and Drink kitchen quickly amassed 200 pieces of breakfast a half hour before 7.
Brock, owner of the tavern, is giving away free breakfast tacos during the summer for local students and other members of the community who are in need.
“There’s a lot of kids in the community who are not going to have food because of school ending, so we were talking and I said, ‘What can we do?’ Man, I got a kitchen and we feed everybody on Thanksgiving, so why don’t we just do it — make tacos?” Brock said.
For the next 10 weeks from 7-10 a.m. Monday through Friday, Brock and volunteers will serve free breakfast tacos in their makeshift drive-through at Brock’s, located at 4021 Acton Highway.
“I’ve been very blessed and I thought it would be the right thing to do to give back,” Brock said.
With 300 eggs, 200 tortillas, 20 pounds of sausages and 25 cups of cheese, Brock and his two volunteers, Kami Kemp and Gary Newell, cooked 300 breakfast tacos on Monday as they kicked off their first day of feeding and giving back to the community.
“It’s not just for kids; it’s any of our neighbors and friends who are in need,” Brock said. “And anybody who wants some food, there’s no questions asked. If people say, ‘Oh, how do you know that they really need it?’ That’s not my job to vet them, you know? That’s between them and God.”
Brock said his goal is to serve between 10,000 to 15,000 breakfast tacos this summer.
“It’s just being a human being,” he said. “It’s not that hard and it’s the right thing to do. I have the facility and the ability to do it, so let’s get them fed.”
“What he’s doing is amazing,” Kemp said. “I can’t imagine starting my day — especially on a Monday — any other way. It’s incredible. If you want to start your mornings with purpose, try handing out tacos to people that might be food unstable or just hungry. I can’t even imagine the magnitude every morning.”
Brock said they don’t take any donations, but he is in need of volunteers to help put together and serve the tacos.
“People say you can’t change the whole world,” he added. “Maybe so, but we can make a difference in one small piece of the world where we live in our home. So that’s our goal is to try to make a difference, be kind and spread the love and peace.”
“It’s wonderful. James is wonderful,” Newell added. “It’s a great cause and it’s a feel-good moment.”
