Relief Team supports families impacted by Hurricane Helene
WCK prepositioned in Tallahassee, Florida ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall. Multiple WCK food truck partners and our new Rapid Response Field Kitchen were readied so our teams could provide hot meals quickly after the storm.
Our Relief Team initially provided meals to families in Florida and Georgia. As the storm moved inland across the Southeast, we mobilized to North Carolina and Tennessee where we remain on the ground. Fueled as always by our Chef Corps members, restaurant and food truck partners, and volunteers, WCK is working shoulder-to-shoulder with local communities to blanket the devastated region with much needed food and water aid.
WCK’s impact
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How WCK scaled our Hurricane Helene efforts
Many people ask us how WCK can scale so big, so fast after disaster. Our response in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene is a prime example. Here, restaurants and members of our Chef Corps in Asheville were managing the impact of the hurricane on their own lives and neighborhoods while immediately stepping up to cook for their neighbors. Together, we pooled their strength to go bigger and reach widespread communities in need. Whether it’s here in NC or on the other side of the world, empowering and equipping local leaders in the community drives relief efforts and gets food to families who need it most.
First Lady Jill Biden Visits WCK in NC
On October 25, we welcomed First Lady Jill Biden and Governor Roy Cooper to World Central Kitchen’s operations in Asheville, North Carolina to share where WCK has been feeding residents impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Support Beyond Food
Hurricane Helene left widespread food need across the region. In Asheville, NC, infrastructure damage from the storm also created an acute water shortage. WCK is providing tens of thousands of gallons of potable water daily to impacted communities in the area. This water is a lifeline to Asheville and surrounding communities as recovery efforts continue. Watch as the first WCK water tankers arrive in Asheville.
Power of Community
Local leaders are an essential component to our work around the world. Our relief model relies on people rallying together and supporting one another when disaster strikes. WCK provides the framework and experience; citizens and the local culinary community are the magic.
Shania stepped up as a local community leader in Shiloh, North Carolina—working with WCK and other partners to help her community’s recovery after Hurricane Helene. Shania reflects, “This is the opposite of Covid. Covid separated people. This, the closer we get together, the better.” Watch the video below to hear more from Shania.
Hurricane Helene
Food Truck Partners
WCK food truck partners were mission critical in getting free hot meals to people in need quickly after Hurricane Helene. Dozens trucks answered the call to help—many from the communities they are serving.
Help us keep cooking for families impacted by Hurricane Helene