Larry Gray talks to a lawyer friend on the phone as he paces around the tornado-damaged lot where he hosts a food stand in the Greater Ville area of north 最新杏吧原创 on Nov. 22, 2025. Gray hopes to either buy the lot or buy a different lot with a building he can operate and live out of now that his food stand has grown into a larger operation than he planned. Most people he serves are homeless or addicted to drugs.
Kanita Tate, of 最新杏吧原创, holds up a pair of pants from Larry Gray鈥檚 clothing donation table at Gray鈥檚 food stand on Oct. 30, 2025. Tate, who has been homeless since before the tornado, now lives in vacant storm-damaged buildings, but says they鈥檙e unstable. 鈥淲ithout Larry, I wouldn鈥檛 eat,鈥 Tate said.
People line up to get dinner from Larry Gray鈥檚 food stand on Ashland Avenue in 最新杏吧原创 on Nov. 7, 2025. Kantrail Collins, right, has volunteered since May to help serve food. Through the help of a few volunteers and the constant flow of donations, Gray has been able to feed hundreds of people. 鈥淥ne person can make a difference, no matter what your background is. No matter what you鈥檝e done in life, you can make a difference,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray, left, talks with a group of people who dropped off sides, pies and clothing for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. All of the cooking equipment, generators and tents for Gray's food stand were donated. 鈥淭he tornado brought in destruction, but it also brought in a sense of unity among the people, causing people from all over 最新杏吧原创 to come down here to support,鈥 Gray said.
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
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Larry Gray, right, gives Sarah Avery a hug after she and Mike Avery, left, dropped off boxes of baby formula and diapers at Gray鈥檚 stand on Oct. 30, 2025. The Averys run the 鈥淥peration Any Means Necessary鈥 nonprofit, which focuses on supporting at-risk youths in 最新杏吧原创. They also work with other organizations to aid in tornado recovery. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about community," said Sarah Avery. "Wherever we are needed, we try to pull up as much as possible.鈥
Garfield Lacy, whose house collapsed on top of him during the May 16 tornado, sits amid the rubble of the home on North Newstead Avenue in the Greater Ville area of 最新杏吧原创 on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. 鈥淚 need all the help I can get,鈥 said his mother, Geraldine Spencer, who owns the property and did not have homeowners insurance.
Larry Gray prepares his grandmother鈥檚 banana pudding recipe at Grace & Peace Fellowship Church in 最新杏吧原创 on Nov. 3, 2025. The church lets Gray use the kitchen twice a week to cook meals for his stand. Gray serves meals ready to eat so people can be fed right away. 鈥淚f I close down now, people won鈥檛 have any place to go, not locally in the neighborhood, where they can get that type of stuff,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray, right, calls a friend to get gas for the generator while receiving donations from Craig Jung, left, of 最新杏吧原创, as it begins to rain at his food stand in 最新杏吧原创, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. Gray has to juggle many tasks daily, from ensuring the stand has enough electricty to operate, to organizing the donations that come in, to dealing with different personalities that come through. Despite feeding hundreds of people since May, he wishes he could do more. 鈥淚f by chance, I hit the lottery or something, I鈥檇 do something for the community, I鈥檇 build a factory or something like that,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray checks out a gunshot wound on dog Patches鈥 ear behind Gray's food stand on Nov. 5, 2025. When Patches was shot by two men walking their own dog nearby, Gray grabbed a diaper to cover the wound.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 not a time to be at odds with each other,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray has been on the corner of Ashland and Newstead avenues every day since the May 16 tornado cooking food to help others. What started out as an effort to feed his immediate neighbors in the devastating aftermath turned into a space where everyone can get help.
Charron Mathis, right, tosses his girlfriend鈥檚 daughter聽Aunestie Isaac, 2, into the air during some downtime at Larry Gray's food stand on Oct. 31, 2025. Mathis, a chef who runs a food truck, volunteered his time and his grill to help Gray every day in the first few weeks after the tornado hit. Together, they cooked for almost 200 people a day. 鈥淭he need was just so great,鈥 Mathis said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 able to sleep good, not knowing that I could have done something.鈥
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
Holding a donated gift card, Larry Gray prepares to fill a gas can to fuel the generator that powers his food stand on Oct. 30, 2025. Gray brings out a large, donated speaker to play music while cooking and serving food and turns on overhead lights for the stand at night, to make the space feel welcoming.
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
Larry Gray walks home after closing up the stand in 最新杏吧原创, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Gray lives across the street from the stand and wakes up every morning and heads to the stand to starts preparing for the day. 鈥淕od looked down on me, even though my past was reckless,鈥 Gray said. 鈥淗e must鈥檝e saw something good in me. He chose me to do this, put this in my hand so I鈥檓 going to keep it going as long as people keep bringing me stuff to do it.鈥 When Gray was 29, he was arrested for promoting prostitution. He took a plea bargain and served five years from 1988. 鈥淓verybody can change,鈥 Gray said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see things the same way as you start getting older, you experience life more and you come to realize that there is something better out there that you could be doing.鈥
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
Larry Gray tries to relax at his house with his girlfriend, Deanna Merrill, after running his food stand all day聽on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. Seven months after the tornado, Gray still doesn鈥檛 have electricity and spends $30 a day to power a generator to run his phone chargers, a space heater, and a TV that he watches to relax. Gray said he feels like he is trying to do everything at once, from managing donations, to cooking food, to dealing with the personalities of the people he serves.
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
Deanna Merrill, left, pulls in her boyfriend Larry Gray for a kiss as he sets up for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. Merrill met Gray through the food stand and helps Gray when she's not at her night job. 鈥淲hen I am by myself, I can鈥檛 do it," says Gray. "But because I am not by myself, I am doing it."
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
Dream Thomas, 4, waves a flashlight during a power outage at the food stand while her mother, Erica Reed, gets food on Nov. 7, 2025. During the SNAP funding lapse due to the government shutdown, Larry Gray鈥檚 stand provided food for the family, who live in a tornado-damaged home with no electricity. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like taking a burden off your shoulders,鈥 Reed said.
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
鈥淧eople like us, we don鈥檛 have a whole lot, but we try to do what we can for our friends, and other people too.鈥
Free story: "All I want is for my family to be able to rebuild. To have a home again. ... I don鈥檛 want our community to be forgotten."
Larry Gray talks to a lawyer friend on the phone as he paces around the tornado-damaged lot where he hosts a food stand in the Greater Ville area of north 最新杏吧原创 on Nov. 22, 2025. Gray hopes to either buy the lot or buy a different lot with a building he can operate and live out of now that his food stand has grown into a larger operation than he planned. Most people he serves are homeless or addicted to drugs.
Kanita Tate, of 最新杏吧原创, holds up a pair of pants from Larry Gray鈥檚 clothing donation table at Gray鈥檚 food stand on Oct. 30, 2025. Tate, who has been homeless since before the tornado, now lives in vacant storm-damaged buildings, but says they鈥檙e unstable. 鈥淲ithout Larry, I wouldn鈥檛 eat,鈥 Tate said.
People line up to get dinner from Larry Gray鈥檚 food stand on Ashland Avenue in 最新杏吧原创 on Nov. 7, 2025. Kantrail Collins, right, has volunteered since May to help serve food. Through the help of a few volunteers and the constant flow of donations, Gray has been able to feed hundreds of people. 鈥淥ne person can make a difference, no matter what your background is. No matter what you鈥檝e done in life, you can make a difference,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray, left, talks with a group of people who dropped off sides, pies and clothing for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. All of the cooking equipment, generators and tents for Gray's food stand were donated. 鈥淭he tornado brought in destruction, but it also brought in a sense of unity among the people, causing people from all over 最新杏吧原创 to come down here to support,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray, right, gives Sarah Avery a hug after she and Mike Avery, left, dropped off boxes of baby formula and diapers at Gray鈥檚 stand on Oct. 30, 2025. The Averys run the 鈥淥peration Any Means Necessary鈥 nonprofit, which focuses on supporting at-risk youths in 最新杏吧原创. They also work with other organizations to aid in tornado recovery. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about community," said Sarah Avery. "Wherever we are needed, we try to pull up as much as possible.鈥
Garfield Lacy, whose house collapsed on top of him during the May 16 tornado, sits amid the rubble of the home on North Newstead Avenue in the Greater Ville area of 最新杏吧原创 on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. 鈥淚 need all the help I can get,鈥 said his mother, Geraldine Spencer, who owns the property and did not have homeowners insurance.
Larry Gray prepares his grandmother鈥檚 banana pudding recipe at Grace & Peace Fellowship Church in 最新杏吧原创 on Nov. 3, 2025. The church lets Gray use the kitchen twice a week to cook meals for his stand. Gray serves meals ready to eat so people can be fed right away. 鈥淚f I close down now, people won鈥檛 have any place to go, not locally in the neighborhood, where they can get that type of stuff,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray, right, calls a friend to get gas for the generator while receiving donations from Craig Jung, left, of 最新杏吧原创, as it begins to rain at his food stand in 最新杏吧原创, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. Gray has to juggle many tasks daily, from ensuring the stand has enough electricty to operate, to organizing the donations that come in, to dealing with different personalities that come through. Despite feeding hundreds of people since May, he wishes he could do more. 鈥淚f by chance, I hit the lottery or something, I鈥檇 do something for the community, I鈥檇 build a factory or something like that,鈥 Gray said.
Larry Gray checks out a gunshot wound on dog Patches鈥 ear behind Gray's food stand on Nov. 5, 2025. When Patches was shot by two men walking their own dog nearby, Gray grabbed a diaper to cover the wound.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 not a time to be at odds with each other,鈥 Gray said.
Charron Mathis, right, tosses his girlfriend鈥檚 daughter聽Aunestie Isaac, 2, into the air during some downtime at Larry Gray's food stand on Oct. 31, 2025. Mathis, a chef who runs a food truck, volunteered his time and his grill to help Gray every day in the first few weeks after the tornado hit. Together, they cooked for almost 200 people a day. 鈥淭he need was just so great,鈥 Mathis said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 able to sleep good, not knowing that I could have done something.鈥
Holding a donated gift card, Larry Gray prepares to fill a gas can to fuel the generator that powers his food stand on Oct. 30, 2025. Gray brings out a large, donated speaker to play music while cooking and serving food and turns on overhead lights for the stand at night, to make the space feel welcoming.
Larry Gray walks home after closing up the stand in 最新杏吧原创, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Gray lives across the street from the stand and wakes up every morning and heads to the stand to starts preparing for the day. 鈥淕od looked down on me, even though my past was reckless,鈥 Gray said. 鈥淗e must鈥檝e saw something good in me. He chose me to do this, put this in my hand so I鈥檓 going to keep it going as long as people keep bringing me stuff to do it.鈥 When Gray was 29, he was arrested for promoting prostitution. He took a plea bargain and served five years from 1988. 鈥淓verybody can change,鈥 Gray said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see things the same way as you start getting older, you experience life more and you come to realize that there is something better out there that you could be doing.鈥
Larry Gray tries to relax at his house with his girlfriend, Deanna Merrill, after running his food stand all day聽on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. Seven months after the tornado, Gray still doesn鈥檛 have electricity and spends $30 a day to power a generator to run his phone chargers, a space heater, and a TV that he watches to relax. Gray said he feels like he is trying to do everything at once, from managing donations, to cooking food, to dealing with the personalities of the people he serves.
Deanna Merrill, left, pulls in her boyfriend Larry Gray for a kiss as he sets up for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. Merrill met Gray through the food stand and helps Gray when she's not at her night job. 鈥淲hen I am by myself, I can鈥檛 do it," says Gray. "But because I am not by myself, I am doing it."
Dream Thomas, 4, waves a flashlight during a power outage at the food stand while her mother, Erica Reed, gets food on Nov. 7, 2025. During the SNAP funding lapse due to the government shutdown, Larry Gray鈥檚 stand provided food for the family, who live in a tornado-damaged home with no electricity. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like taking a burden off your shoulders,鈥 Reed said.
