GREENFIELD, Iowa — Six months after an EF-4 tornado hit the city of Greenfield, one of the city's restaurants has received an Iowa Restaurant Association award for its selfless work following the storm.
Tiger Drive-In owner Katie Huff won the 2024 Restaurant Neighbor Philanthropist Award for her "outstanding community leadership" as her team distributed free food, like ice cream, to the crews cleaning the city and to families who lost their homes.
Back in May, right after the storm, people across Iowa heard what Huff was doing in Greenfield and donated money and supplies to give back further.
"We just came to work, and we did what we were supposed to do," Huff said. "When people started donating the money, we were able to just continue what we were doing."
Checks came from as far as Washington D.C. and Colorado to help Huff and the Tiger Drive-In continue to keep their generous gestures going.
The donations allowed the Tiger Drive-In to purchase multiple day's worth of lunch. One day the restaurant even sold out of soups before they opened because so many people learned of what Huff was doing, and wanted something to eat.
Huff told Local 5 News this award wasn't just for her but for the rest of her team as well.
"I didn't do it alone. We all did it together on the days and weeks after the tornado," she added.
The Tiger Drive-In's selflessness didn't end with giving back days after the tornado. The restaurant also helps with the school district's sports teams' fundraising as well throughout the year, Huff said.