“If you don't have money to give to someone, give them food,” says Matthew Graham of Elaine's Jamaican Kitchen.
DALLAS — It was another busy day for most people at Elaine's Jamaican Kitchen in South Dallas on Wednesday, but for Matthew Graham, every meal counts. “You can always take care of yourself, but other people might need help more than you,” said Matthew Graham of Elaine's Jamaican Kitchen.
He and other restaurant staff are from Jamaica, and their families sent videos showing them waiting out Hurricane Beryl, the deadly storm that has killed at least six people in the southeastern Caribbean and become the fastest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic.
“Nobody wants their family to be hit by a hurricane or a tornado or any storm like that. It's very worrying,” Graham said.
Elaine's Jamaican Kitchen has furthered a long-standing tradition: “Every time I go to the store, I think of Jamaica: Hey, I'm gonna buy two bags of this rice. I'm gonna buy this. I'm gonna buy that. And before you know it, I'm stockpiling and I'm sending it out,” Graham says.
They delivered food and toiletries to Jamaica on the Tuesday before the storm. Around the restaurant, there are memorials in memory of Elaine, the woman who started it all. She passed away last Easter.
Elaine opened a restaurant and began working to help families in Jamaica. She is also Graham's aunt. “She was a woman who wanted to give back and was always willing to help others,” Graham said. “She's from Jamaica and she knows the struggles of Jamaica.”
They send large quantities of food to Jamaica once a month, and are preparing to send even more this month to help victims of the hurricane.
“If you have nothing to give to somebody, you can always give them food. If you don't have money to give to somebody, you can always give them food,” Graham said. “I have to keep doing it. It's stayed with me through her, through my mom. I have to keep doing it.”
Anyone can help with this effort by donating non-perishable food and supplies to Elaine's Jamaican Kitchen, located at 2717 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
