Reaching hardest-hit communities in Mexico after Hurricane Otis
In the weeks since Category 5 Hurricane Otis made landfall along the Pacific coast of Mexico, World Central Kitchen has provided much needed aid—from food and water to masa flour and bridge repairs—by working alongside local partners and impacted communities. We have worked with 124 partners to provide more than 3 million hot meals and sandwiches, along with over 140,000 gallons of potable water. Our teams have distributed 160 tons of corn flour so local tortillerias can provide tortillas—a regional staple—for their neighborhoods. This work is in large part possible thanks to the countless Mexicans, many directly impacted by the storm, who are supporting our efforts.
Kitchens in Acapulco
Acapulco was one of the hardest hit areas during Otis, and it is where we established our headquarters for this response. At the Tres Fuentes event space, a popular venue in the city, our Culinary Team and local volunteers are working tirelessly to provide delicious, hot meals for the community. They have been chopping, simmering, and working hard to create thousands of daily dishes like beef in mole and salsa verde chicken.
Chef Eduardo “Lalo” Palazuelos—one of the most prominent chefs in Acapulco—and his team are working alongside WCK in both Tres Fuentes and at his restaurant Zibu. Chef Lalo is committed to being an active part of the city’s recovery, and has been sharing his expertise with our team to ensure we are cooking nourishing meals using local flavors. He has also joined our distribution teams taking meals to hard-to-reach cities and villages surrounding Acapulco.
Thank you to WCK for blessing Acapulco. It is an honor to support you in these difficult moments.
Chef Lalo Palazuelos
Local chef and WCK volunteer
Volunteers in Coyuca de Benítez
It’s not just five star restaurants and enormous event spaces that are aiding WCK’s efforts to feed people impacted by Otis. Small businesses and community groups are also a critical part of helping provide meals for their neighborhoods. Though they may not have the capacity to cook thousands of meals each day, they work equally hard to do whatever they can.
WCK provided cooking equipment to a parish in Coyuca de Benítez, so the twenty volunteers who are cooking meals every day will be able to meet the community’s food needs. With WCK’s logistical support and resources, many small, local groups are preparing hundreds of meals each day, and these hundreds add up to make a big difference for communities still reeling from the storm.
The power of youth
For weeks, WCK has been making daily deliveries by helicopter to the town of El Espinalillo. One of our photographers, Miguel, stressed the importance of the young people in the town. “The kids and teenagers from El Espinalillo are key in this town,” he explained. “Since day one, they have helped us organize, clean, and even deliver hot meals to seniors who can not come to the delivery point.” These young people are a credit to their community, and their compassion, tenacity, and willingness to help have made all the difference to their neighbors and families.
Tortilleria Isabella
In the same town of El Espinalillo, Sandra and Olivia run Tortilleria Isabella. Corn tortillas are a main staple in Mexican cuisine, and most families buy freshly made tortillas from local shops like this one. The key ingredient is masa—a type of corn flour. After the hurricane, shops like Sandra and Olivia’s used what flour had made it through the storm to continue providing tortillas to their communities—but they quickly ran out.
WCK began purchasing thousands of pounds of corn flour and working to create partnerships with local tortillerias across the state of Guerrero. In El Espinalillo, Sandra and Olivia agreed to work with WCK—receiving the corn flour they needed to make tortillas, while committing to specific, reasonable prices for the finished tortillas. This program helps local shops continue making tortillas for their communities, strengthening the local economy, and ensuring that families who need tortillas get them at an affordable price. Through partnerships like this, we are ensuring communities are protected from the steep inflation normally seen after a disaster.
Tortilleria La Rosita
In Acapulco, we formed the same partnership with Jesus and Alan, the father and son team who run Tortilleria La Rosita. Even in the hot, humid weather, their team is working hard to make fresh tortillas for families in the area. They told our team that they were grateful for WCK’s support in getting the flour they needed, and allowing them to pass the savings along to the people who needed tortillas to feed their families. With WCK’s help, they were able to remain open for business and serve their neighbors and friends small pieces of comfort.
Repairing a bridge
Hurricane Otis damaged the singular bridge entering Barrio Nuevo Las Lajas, isolating the community. WCK teams were crossing the river daily, walking through waist-high water to reach the town and deliver meals. After meeting some local construction workers, our team arrived at the river one day not only with meals to deliver, but with equipment to fix the bridge. It took two days, but we helped fix the damage and make the bridge usable for everyone!
Recovering after the storm
Samuel has joined the WCK team in Acapulco as a photographer to document the work happening and people we meet. Originally from Colombia, he has lived in Acapulco for two and a half years along with his family. He has seen firsthand the importance of the work WCK is doing to partner with local communities. “WCK gives important support to tortillerias with the corn flour project,” he said. “Helping in a direct and indirect way a stable economy for the people of Acapulco. There is no work. And we all know that it happens between low supply and high demand.”
Samuel, his wife, and their two children were in their home on the 8th floor of a building in Acapulco when Hurricane Otis hit. “The windows exploded like a big bomb,” he recalled, “The 8-story building moved from side to side as if we were on a tree branch. Without light, in the darkness. Just listening to how everything shook strongly, and at the same time feeling as if you were inside an airplane turbine.” After the storm passed, the scene was equally terrifying. “The city looked like a zombie movie. For us, it was almost seeing the end of the world.”
Thankfully, Samuel has seen more hopeful things since then, and is happy to be part of WCK’s efforts on the ground. As he follows our teams on daily deliveries of hot meals, watches the chefs work in the kitchens, and captures the beautiful moments of support in between, he made a heartwarming observation. “The great support of WCK is distributing food, joy, and hope.”
The great support of WCK is distributing food, joy, and hope.
Samuel Alzate Cubillos
Acapulco resident and WCK photographer
Learn more about our Hurricane Otis response here. For real-time updates, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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