 "Photo: Zach Tuggle / The Lantern")
More than 400 volunteers at Ohio State want to feed 40,000 people and raise $20,000 for charity over the next six days.
The Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and the Buckeye Barbeque Club are hosting The World's Longest BBQ — a 168-hour barbecue between Sullivant Hall and the Wexner Center.
"We're selling burgers for a dollar each," said Micah Kamrass, Undergraduate Student Government president-elect and former president of AEPi. "We have cheap food that tastes good, and we're in a good location."
The event was born last fall, right after the two groups, AEPi and Buckeye Barbeque Club, collaborated for a four-day barbecue, also for charity.
"We made over $5,000 that time," said Andrew Weiner, a second-year in accounting and vice president of AEPi.
The event's purpose is to raise money for three charities: Chai Lifeline, The Mid-Ohio Foodbank and Faith on 8th.
"This is personal for some of us because we've met the people helped by Chai Lifeline," Kamrass said.
At a summer camp last year, Kamrass met a man who had a severe brain tumor. Chai Lifeline provided a way for him to go bungee jumping and fly in a private airplane.
"I think about those people every second I'm out here," said Kamrass, a third-year in political science and economics.
Though Monday was rainy, the organizers said a surprising number of students were stopping by to support the barbecue.
"Even in the rain we're feeding about 100 people an hour," said Kris Weissman, the captain of the BBQ's Grill Team. "Given this location, we could easily feed 30,000 to 40,000 this week."
And the menu is pretty broad for a barbecue.
"We're doing tacos tonight, pulled pork tomorrow and even pizza on Friday," said Jon Fish, a second-year in international business and economics and president of AEPi.
The barbecue will be open for business 24 hours a day until Monday afternoon. Food is $2 per plate.
Local bands will perform at the barbecue Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 4:30 p.m. to midnight.
But even without music, the barbecue is pretty appealing to guests.
"Cheap food, 24 hours a day? You can't get better than that," said Stosh Antolak, a third-year in electrical engineering. "I'll probably eat breakfast here tomorrow morning."