#ChefsForPuertoRico Update: 300k meals in response to ongoing earthquakes
Today, our Chef Relief Team will cook our 300,000th meal in Puerto Rico, working from two kitchens and five food trucks to serve meals at more than 50 locations. We are serving lunch and dinner every day in and around the cities of Yauco and Ponce, supporting communities affected by the series of destructive earthquakes that have been shaking the region since early January.
This week, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck off the coast of the city of Yauco, just as schools in the area were beginning to reopen, prompting new evacuations and reminding the team that they are not out of danger yet. “Very difficult for life to get ‘back to normal’ in communities with the ground still shaking,” WCK founder José Andrés tweeted out. “So we will keep cooking.”
And our team is cooking! We are serving meals at two makeshift schools that have been temporarily established in outdoor parks around Ponce, ensuring that students can keep learning despite damage to their school buildings. At Peñuelas we are serving over 400 children, and at Las Galicias there are 300 students who are now able to enjoy a healthy, hot lunch every day. This week, they feasted on plantains, rice, beans, and salad – and of course a piece of fresh fruit.
We have also established a food truck park at a large shelter in the town of Guánica, on the island’s southern coast. Four local food trucks are currently based there, cooking Puerto Rican favorites like yuca with braised chicken & vegetables or braised beef with bacon & green plantain tacos. From these trucks, we’re serving families staying at the shelter, first responders, and the National Guard, which has been stationed in the area following the quakes. One of our volunteers, Marina, is even taking the opportunity to give some impromptu cooking classes to children who visit the food truck park!
The damage from the series of earthquakes has affected communities all around the island’s southwestern region, from Mayagüez on the east coast to Jayuya in the center to Ponce in the south. Our #ChefsForPuertoRico team, which is composed mostly of Puerto Ricans, is deeply connected with the communities we serve. If you’re curious about where we are working, and love maps as much as José does, check out this live map that we use to track our kitchens, food trucks, shelters, schools, and other important information about the activation.
For other real-time updates and information, please follow us on Twitter. To donate and support our efforts, please head here. To volunteer with our team in Puerto Rico, click here.
