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The Approach
Operationalizing such a simple concept is quite complex. As the organization’s website notes,
"WCK responds to natural disasters, man-made crises, and humanitarian emergencies around the world. We're a team of food first responders, mobilizing with the urgency of now to get meals to the people who need them most."
The organization also makes a commitment to the community once the emergency has subsided. “Through locally led approaches, our Resilience programs advance human and environmental health, offer access to
professional culinary training, create jobs,
and improve food security for the people
we serve.”
Culinary Training
WCK’s Culinary Training programs - École des Chefs, Relief Training, and Kitchen Skills & Safety - empower cooks with the skills and knowledge needed to provide nutritious school meals, pursue careers in the hospitality sector, and safely and effectively feed communities in the aftermath of a disaster.
Clean Cooking
WCK’s Clean Cooking program seeks to demonstrate long-term positive impacts on
the health and livelihoods of communities in the Caribbean and Central America who still cook primarily with wood or charcoal when
they transition to clean burning liquid propane
gas (LPG).
Food Producer Network
WCK’s Food Producer Network (FPN) looks at long-term food production and focuses on
contributing to system-wide improvements in food security, sustainability, and resilience
against future disasters. FPN aims to strengthen the overall food economy and affect a lasting reduction in each region’s high rate of food imports by supporting local farmers, fishers, and food producers.2
Reach
Since 2010, World Central Kitchen has brought food to communities around the world. The organization has brought food to refugees in Afghanistan, in Venezuela, at the US-Mexico border; to people experiencing typhoons in the Philippines, hurricanes in Puerto Rico, wildfires in Colorado, and earthquakes in Haiti; and to communities suffering from COVID-19.
Most recently, World Central Kitchen found itself on the ground in the Ukraine – the first time it has ever been deployed in a war situation. Since its entry into the Ukraine, WCK has served more than 34 million meals through the first week of June. WCK has not been located outside of danger zones: the team was among the first to enter Bucha, and one of their kitchens was struck by a missile (again, setting up shop immediately afterward). Andrés calls his team and volunteers, “food fighters.”
World Central Kitchen does not simply respond to crises as they develop. WCK has also launched its Climate Disaster Fund, with a commitment to raise and spend $1 billion over the next decade to support communities impacted by the climate crisis.3 Director Ron Howard has produced a film, We Feed People, that spotlights Andrés and the work of WCK.
Modeling
World Central Kitchen argues that wars are neither about, nor determined by superpowers and their representatives. They are determined by people: by men and women who share a space and a vision, by communities who share beliefs in the inherent dignity of others, by families who share a meal and teach leassons learned across generations, by individuals who say we can do better.
Chef José Andrés is one of the latter. Life need not be defined through war, strife, or struggle. Respect, opportunity, and empowerment are much better guides. Let's all aplaud his efforts; and let's acknowledge the wisdom of his wife, whose insight made the complex simple.
Visit:
https://wck.org/