You gotta love this for Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl. On October 18, at the Hope In The City Of Angels gala inside BMO Stadium, Grohl was honoured for his community work with Hope The Mission: a Los Angeles non-profit feeding and sheltering the city’s most vulnerable.
Grohl’s no stranger to the grill or the grind. The guy has spent sleepless nights manning smokers, cooking up brisket and ribs for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of unhoused L.A. residents.
During his speech, he told the crowd how it started:
“One night I was heading to the studio in Northridge. It was freezing, and I saw how many people were sleeping on the streets. I’d cooked for fundraisers before, but this was different. These people needed food — now. So I called Rowan (Vansleve, president of Hope The Mission) and said, ‘How do we do this?’ He said, ‘Let’s figure it out.’ And we pulled up in a parking lot and started feeding people.”
From there, it snowballed.
“There’s something about handing someone a plate of food who needs it. You ask, ‘Beef or pork?’ and they say, ‘Both, please.’ You give them both. They look you in the eye and say, ‘God bless you.’ And they mean it.”
The mission grew fast:
500 meals. Then 800. Then 2,000.
Grohl just kept showing up, spatula in hand, heart on his sleeve.
“It’s simple and beautiful,” he said. “Showing love, care, and compassion for another human being. But it’s also really good barbecue.”
Hope The Mission praised him in a statement:
“Without fanfare, Dave has volunteered for days at a time, preparing and serving meals to people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. We honor him for inspiring advocacy in his backyard — just as his music has brought hope to fans around the world.”
For context: Hope The Mission started out of a van in the San Fernando Valley and has grown into the largest rescue mission in the U.S., serving thousands daily with food, shelter, and medical support. Partnering with Los Angeles Mission, they now deliver 3 million meals and 750,000 nights of shelter every year.
Rock star. Pitmaster. Human. Well played Dave, well played.
