WCK In 2022

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My friends,

Every December, when I reflect back on what we did together through World Central Kitchen over the year, I am humbled, grateful, and amazed at the way people come together to help their neighbors in need. Over and over again, we see how a freshly prepared plate of food, when served in someone’s darkest hour, is one of the most powerful tools we can be using to fight hopelessness, despair, and the feeling that you are alone.

WCK has grown both in ways I couldn’t have imagined, but also exactly as I knew it could when humanity comes together around the belief that access to food is a universal human right. After serving tens of millions of meals in response to natural disasters, refugees crises, the global pandemic, and other emergencies over the past five years, a cold morning this February changed everything for WCK. I – like millions of people around the world – knew that when innocent Ukrainians were attacked, we had to act. WCK mobilized to the borders of neighboring countries to help the thousands of mostly women with children fleeing to safety. Quickly, we started activating restaurants in Ukraine itself, most of whom were already cooking for their communities. And the support we received from thousands of you around the world has been truly incredible, sustaining our efforts for the last 10 months, allowing us to serve more than 185 million meals in Ukraine. Since we started, WCK teams in Ukraine are every day supporting families living through the unthinkable—and with your help, we’ll keep cooking.

And even with such a massive response, WCK teams served 10 million meals in response to emergencies in more than 30 other countries, too. Climate-fueled disasters are getting worse, so we have been this year alone bringing relief to families affected by flooding in Kentucky, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia; wildfires in Spain and across the western United States; hurricanes in Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, and even Canada; and so much more. At the same time, we had teams working in places like Puerto Rico, Haiti, Guatemala strengthening local systems by working hand in hand with communities.

All of this work, the hours, days, months WCK Food Fighters around the world spent chopping, boiling, frying, cooking, coordinating, delivering, serving… is made possible by you, our World Central Kitchen supporters. So again, thank you—thank you for being with us in this fight to ensure everyone has a hot plate of food and hope for a better future.

José Andrés
Founder

Heavy Rainfall Ruptures Dams in Bahia

WCK served over 64,000 fresh meals to families impacted by severe flooding in Bahia, Brazil caused by extreme rainfall. The heavy rain led to water pollution issues for the indigenous territory of Tupinambá de Olivença, so the WCK team worked with Chief Sussuarana by providing clean drinking water in addition to nourishing meals.

Winter Wildfire in Boulder

The Marshall Fire that burned over 6,000 acres of land and destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the Boulder area was the most destructive fire in Colorado’s history. Our Relief Team arrived within hours of the fire and quickly determined the best way to support the community was partnering with local organizations and businesses instead of establishing our own kitchen. Kristine from Boulder Broth set up next to a WCK partner food truck, and her 14-year-old son Canaan joined her to help provide their community with steaming cups of broth – the perfect comfort food in the midst of snow and negative temperatures.

Bronx Apartment Fire

WCK provided more than 49,000 meals to first responders and families displaced by a devastating fire in a Bronx apartment building that claimed the lives of 17 people, including 8 children. We immediately delivered pizzas from WCK partner Upside Pizza to support anyone impacted, and later coordinated with local partners to deliver meals to four hotels housing evacuated families, first responders on the scene, and medical staff attending to injured residents.

Historic volcano eruption sends waves across the Pacific

Categorized as one of the largest and most powerful eruptions in recent history, the Hunga Tonga volcano covered the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga with ash and water and damaged the nation’s single system of communication, complicating response efforts. Closed borders and safety protocols due to the pandemic made it challenging for WCK to be on the ground, so our Relief Team arrived in Fiji where we worked with local groups to send fishing equipment, and food and hygiene kits via water transport, including a WCK-chartered ship. Additionally, we supported local resorts and restaurants to cook for families in need on the island.

Improving Food and Nutrition Security

Bryan is one of 38 small-scale food producers to receive a WCK Food Producer Network grant this year. Los Huevos de Lencha—Bryan’s farm in western Puerto Rico—is known for producing some of the best free-range eggs in the territory. With his grant, Bryan purchased a mobile chicken tractor, a commercial fridge, and an egg washer. These upgrades resulted in increased production and ensured products meet the rigorous quality standards of supermarkets across the island.

Empowering locals to cook for neighbors impacted by cyclone in Madagascar

At landfall, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai had the equivalent strength of a Category 3 hurricane—entire villages were destroyed, leaving affected areas cut off from support. Immediately following the storm, WCK set up a Field Kitchen, purchased fresh ingredients from the community market, and utilized locally made pots to empower a local team of cooks to prepare over 68,000 meals in one month.

Petrópolis Flooding and Mudslides

More than 115 people were killed in devastating floods and mudslides in Petrópolis, Brazil in mid-February, and WCK teamed up with 9 local restaurants to cook thousands of fresh meals each day for rescue teams and impacted families. We partnered with the organization Gastromotiva to provide thousands of fresh meals like bean and pork cassoulet with rice and farofa early on.

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine

On February 24, Russian military forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine and forced more than 660,000 people—mostly women, children, and seniors—to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighboring countries in just the first week. WCK began serving meals in Poland within a day of the initial attack and set up at eight 24-hour border crossings within a week, quickly scaling production up to tens of thousands of meals per day. Temperatures were cold, so our Relief Team and partner restaurants focused on serving hot, comforting meals like Żurek, a traditional Polish soup made with white sausage, smoked meat, and sour fermented rye flour.

1 Million Meals Served through #ChefsForUkraine

By mid-March, WCK and our incredible team in Ukraine passed the 1 million meal mark, having expanded our response to distribute hot meals and bulk food in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia. We opened a kitchen and food supply depot in Przemyśl, a Polish city just several miles from the Ukrainian border that acted as hub for fleeing families.

With #ChefsForAfghans, WCK serves comforting meals across the US

In August 2021, thousands of Afghan refugees arrived in the US after suddenly traveling for days. WCK immediately stepped in to welcome families with fresh restaurant-prepared meals. Our response extended into this year as we supported refugees awaiting housing in Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee, and Washington. In Phoenix, recent arrivals helped WCK partner Hilal Grill serve comforting dishes like chicken and spinach curry.

#ChefsForUkraine Continues to Expand

WCK continued to expand efforts supporting the resilient people of Ukraine—by the end of April, we had served over 16 million meals, delivered more than 8 million pounds of food, and had teams active in more than 110 cities and towns in Ukraine. The Russian attacks did not slow, but our teams on the ground continued to bring nourishing food to families across the country, including places that were completely cut off due to fighting.

Meeting community needs after record-breaking rains in South Africa

In just over 24 hours, an April storm brought 12 inches of rain, beating one-day rainfall totals from previous historic disasters in the KwaZulu-Natal Province on the eastern coast of South Africa. Feedback from the community helped us determine that shelf-stable items were most useful for families in the weeks following the flooding, so WCK partnered with local organization Gift of the Givers to assemble and deliver 3,000 food kits.

Multiple New Mexican Wildfires

Thousands of Santa Fe and Albuquerque residents were forced to evacuate their homes after windy conditions during an ongoing drought led to widespread fires in the area. The WCK team served first responders and families in more than 10 locations, including shelters and children’s camps. The kids at Glorieta Adventure Camp, offered by Project Camp for children who have been impacted by disaster or crisis, loved the sandwiches we brought for lunch one afternoon.

Gun Violence in the United States

To bring comfort to communities affected by horrific gun violence, WCK worked with local restaurants in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, in May and Highland Park, IL in July to provide hot meals to first responders and others in need. In addition to distributing meals in Uvalde, we also served cupcakes, snow cones, smoothies, and cold fruit to kids in an effort to bring love and hope during this tragic time.

Bangladesh Pre-Monsoon Floods

Severe pre-monsoon rains in northeast Bangladesh damaged homes and crops, disrupting the lives of more than four million people. WCK began by preparing hot meals, but quickly shifted to also providing meal kits containing items like rice, potatoes, oil, and salt to families in need. Many communities were still inaccessible by road, so our team made deliveries by boat in Sylhet & Sunamganj.

Flooding and Landslides After Heavy Rain in Brazil

Heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil in late May, and our Relief Team activated quickly with local restaurants to prepare meals and later food kits for people in need. Alexsandra and her two little girls, ages 8 and 10, have lived in the Peixinhos neighborhood in Olinda, Brazil since last year. While she was still removing mud from her home, WCK brought fresh meals for Alexsandra’s family.

Tackling food and water issues for hurricane impacted-communities in southern Mexico

With maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, 2022’s Hurricane Agatha is the strongest May hurricane to make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast since recording began in 1949. WCK supported areas cut off from resources by providing fresh meals, water, and 90,000 lbs of food product for people able to cook—including delivering by helicopter to hard to reach communities in the mountains.

Flooding Displaces Millions in India

WCK activated with our long-time partner, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor in Assam, India after severe flooding displaced millions of residents and put entire villages underwater. Chef Kapoor is a member of our Chef Corps who has led previous efforts in India, and he helped the WCK team bring hot meals like curried potatoes with peas, yellow lentils, and cumin rice to impacted communities.

Historic Earthquake in Afghanistan

The strongest earthquake to hit eastern Afghanistan in two decades devastated the region in June, and the crisis was exacerbated by heavy rains that caused flooding that made remote villages difficult to access. Sometimes, our relief efforts go beyond fresh meals as we adapt to community needs – in this case, the WCK team provided much-needed milk and baby formula to the youngest children impacted by the earthquake.

Spanish Summer Wildfires

WCK responded to 7 wildfires across Spain between July and August, serving nearly 14,000 meals to first responders and evacuees. Firefighters were working around the clock to put out the fires, and WCK was on the ground in Zamora serving sandwiches, coffee, sweets, fruit, gazpacho, and cold water to fuel their efforts.

Oak and Mill Fires in California

WCK arrived in Mariposa County in response to the Oak Fire and in Weed in response to the Mill Fire, both of which burned rapidly and displaced thousands of California residents. A cooling center was set up in Weed where evacuees could eat, rest, stay out of the heat, and shower, and the WCK team worked with local restaurants to bring fresh, nourishing meals for lunch and dinner.

Pouring rains devastate vulnerable communities in Kentucky

In late July, deadly flash flooding in eastern Kentucky wiped away entire homes, and left communities without power and limited access to clean water. WCK arrived shortly after, establishing a Relief Kitchen and spreading our team across the impacted areas. We served over 75,000 meals, provided produce boxes, and set up farmers markets in four hard-hit counties.

Refugee and Migrant Families in Panama

Protests that impacted normal bus routes in Panama left migrants and refugees unable to leave the border after crossing the dangerous Darién Gap—WCK provided meal and hygiene kits to families as roads reopened and they could resume their journeys. Our Relief Team traveled by boat to make deliveries in Canaán Membrillo, an indigenous village and point of entry for thousands of migrants & refugees into Panama.

WCK’s responds to families displaced by conflict in Gaza

WCK, alongside local partners Anera and CSSL-Gaza, helped support families impacted by conflict in Gaza that killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Meals like rice and chicken, meat kofta and potatoes, and shawarma were made with input from the community to ensure food was both nourishing and familiar.

Food and Water Support After Flooding in Afghanistan

Flash floods in eastern Afghanistan killed dozens, swept away thousands of homes, and destroyed farmland across the region. In addition to providing more than 23,000 meals to communities in need, WCK deployed water tankers throughout the region to provide much-needed potable water. The WCK team also worked with local partners to repair damaged wells to ensure no one was left without water access.

Mississippi Water Crisis

After more than 90% of the population of Jackson, Mississippi was left without water access following the city’s water system collapse, WCK provided an estimated 150,000 gallons of potable water to residents. We set up distribution sites and allocated large supplies of water to churches, homebound and disabled communities, and schools. WCK also worked with Home Depot to install 600-gallon water tankers at all 54 Jackson public school sites to help students get back to class and minimize future disruption.

Hurricane Fiona causes devastation from the Caribbean to Canada

Over the course of one week, Hurricane Fiona took a heavy toll on Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks & Caicos Islands, Bermuda, and Nova Scotia. WCK advance teams were on the ground before the storm hit to bring nourishing meals and water to people in need as soon as possible. We served more than 680,000 meals across the five affected regions.

Rebuilding Puerto Rican farms

Immediately after Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico and our kitchen started cooking, we also began to assess how to best support the island’s hard-hit agriculture sector. WCK’s Field Kitchen in Ponce purchased more than 30,000 pounds of fresh produce from Food Producer Network (FPN) program participants that would have otherwise been lost. Fresh avocado, passionfruit, watermelon, mango, peppers, and pumpkin were all featured on our Relief Team’s menu. Through FPN, we also distributed thousands of dollars worth of essential tools and connected farms to volunteers wanting to lend a helping hand.

Alaskan Typhoon

After the remnants of Typhoon Merbok brought heavy winds and severe flooding to Alaska’s western coastal communities, critical water and power infrastructure was damaged. The WCK team flew deliveries of fresh fruit, sandwiches, water, and supplies to impacted communities including Golovin, Unalakleet, and Hooper Bay.

Historic Hurricane Ian Devastates South Florida

Hurricane Ian destroyed the only bridge connecting Pine Island to mainland Florida, so WCK flew in food cooked out of our Relief Kitchens in Tampa and later Fort Myers twice a day. In total, our Relief Kitchen and over 50 food truck partners helped us serve more than one million meals across impacted areas in southwest Florida.

Landslides and Flooding in Venezuela and Guatemala after Hurricane Julia

WCK worked with local organizations and long-time restaurant partners to provide meals after Hurricane Julia caused catastrophic landslides in Las Tejerías, Venezuela and widespread flooding in parts of Guatemala. Josefina, a volunteer cook at our partner kitchen in Las Tejerías, told the WCK team, “I have learned so many things through this experience. I have learned that it is important to help people in need.”

Flooding leaves a third of Pakistan underwater

In response to historic flooding in Pakistan brought on by an intense monsoon season, WCK established two Field Kitchens in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces, cooking tens of thousands of hot meals for impacted families. We continued support by working with regional partners Instant Aid and Rizq to distribute over 5,000 food kits to villages in need. Items in the food kits, which were locally sourced in Pakistan, included dates, rice, tea, and spices.

Winter arrives in Ukraine

In preparation for the first full winter of the war, WCK refined our operations to ensure families lacking basic infrastructure for heating and electricity were not without hot meals. We also established distribution centers so Ukrainians fleeing the frontlines could enjoy a plate of food while warming up. Keeping with WCK’s emergency response of immediately assisting liberated areas, our local Relief Team arrived in Kherson with food kits and hot meals following Russia’s withdrawal in early November. Ongoing WCK support continues as liberated communities in Kherson and across the country rebuild.

José receives Ukraine’s Order of Merit

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine awarded José the country’s Order of Merit. “Thank you very much for your support. We feel that you have been with us since the very beginning of this tragedy—the full-scale invasion of the Russian aggressor. Thank you very much for standing with Ukrainians,u0022 said President Zelensky. This is a huge recognition which José accepted in honor of the thousands of Ukrainians that have helped WCK serve more than 175 million meals in the country.

New Era of Haitian Culinary Education

After seven years of WCK support and more than 180 graduates, celebrated Haitian chef Mi-sol Chevallier took the École des Chefs culinary school fully under her wings. Now called Atelier des Chefs—French for “chef’s workshop”, the school remains an industry leader in Port-au-Prince, preparing the next generation of chefs for jobs in Haiti’s top commercial kitchens. Atelier des Chefs stands ready to act as an emergency relief kitchen if the need ever arises.

WCK’s Chef Corps members answer the call

As they did throughout the year, WCK’s Chef Corps members once more answered the call to support their communities when tornadoes tore through New Orleans. Local Chef Corps members joined our Relief Team to provide hundreds of meals across several of the city’s parishes.

Innovation in Clean Cooking

WCK’s Clean Cooking work has been a core resilience program since the organization’s beginnings in 2010. In the years that followed, WCK improved access to safer and cleaner cooking solutions for schools, households, and small businesses. As the program was set to wrap up by December 31, the team conducted its final equipment donations and trainings in Guatemala. These activities ensure school and home cooks can safely prepare nutritious meals. The team is planning to launch a new initiative in 2023 that will continue to improve human and environmental health by increasing access to modern energy cooking services.

Eureka earthquake leaves communites in the dark

Following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake near Eureka, California that left residents without power and water, WCK activated quickly to ensure impacted communities had fresh meals. Jorgelina, who moved to Humboldt in March and opened San Miguel Pupuseria in April, and her son Gino showed up with 200 pupusas just as food was running low during dinner service one night. She told us that this was her largest and most urgent order to date!

Historic Blizzard Hits Buffalo

Hurricane-force winds, heavy snowfall, and sub-zero temperatures combined to bring the deadliest storm in decades to Buffalo. Chef Corps member Darian Bryan immediately jumped to action to support neighbors by serving up comforting dishes like gumbo. The Jamaican-born chef calls Buffalo home and is no stranger to supporting the community during times of need. Chef Darian also provided thousands of meals alongside WCK after the deadly, racially-motivated shooting at Tops Market in May.

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We couldn’t do this work without you—thank you.

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WCK in 2022