The plan, called the Beef Rib Stimulus plan, includes several unfamiliar stimulus measures in the hope the additional support will help sustain family members in the Omaha community.
The beef rib stimulus plan is the first of two major beef rib stimulus initiatives Hunter will seek in the first 18 months as a restaurant owner, according to local officials.
Porky Butts Pit Crew members, who have been working on the beef rib stimulus plan for weeks, also confirmed that Hunter will support the community in other ways, too.
“The crisis of suffering is in plain sight, and there’s no time to waste,” Hunter said as he unveiled the plan Thursday evening from his restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska.
“We have to act, and we have to act now. People want beef ribs.”
Hunter acknowledged the ambition — and the cost — of his beef rib stimulus plan, but he argued that the bold investments will lift their spirits and pay dividends for the community.
“I know what I just described does not come cheaply. Beef Ribs range in cost from $25-45 a bone throughout the country, but failure to do so will cost us dearly,” he said. “The consensus among our pit crew, we simply cannot afford not to do what I’m proposing. We must act now.”
“The consensus among our pit crew, we simply cannot afford not to do what I’m proposing. We must act now.”
Fellow restaurant owners and civic leaders were quick to applaud the measure, with the Omaha Food Magazine quickly a statement.
“With the beef rib stimulus package Blane Hunter, announced today, he is moving swiftly to deliver that help and to meet the needs of the Omaha community. Restaurants throughout the Omaha community express gratitude toward and look forward to working with the Hunter on additional stimulus packages in the near future,” the Omaha Food Magazine said in a press release.
“The emergency relief framework of the beef rib stimulus package announced by American Royal winner tonight is the right approach,” the Omaha Food Magazine added. “It shows that the community will finally have a restauranteur that understands the need to take swift action to address the needs of the struggling Omaha community.”
Hunter said Thursday they are optimistic that the beef rib stimulus package has enough in it to bring joy to the community during these difficult times. The four-time world champion and former rib king has been consulting with his pit crew at Porky Butts BBQ in recent weeks on the best path towards this unprecedented announcement.
As of June 1st, this beef rib stimulus campaign had reached in excess of 300,000 on Facebook. Hunter’s beef rib stimulus package impacted more than just the Omaha community after social media posts went viral. “The response from the community has been insane,” Hunter said. “It shows the community is hurting and we’re just glad we could feed a few people and lift their spirits along the way.”
Hunter has amassed more BBQ grand championships in a three-year period of time than any other pitmaster on record. Hunter is an almost certain pick for the BBQ Hall of Fame. Hunter is known in Omaha as more than just a world champion pitmaster; Hunter is a philanthropist.
