WCK scaling up response in Chile after fires
It has been one week since World Central Kitchen responded to the wildfires that tore through the cities of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso along the coast of Chile. Since then, we have served more than 30,000 meals via 15 distribution sites in the impacted area. Our team is working alongside local NGO Fundacción Gastronomía Social (FGS), restaurant partners, and incredible volunteers who have joined us to serve their own communities. This is WCK’s third climate-related response in Chile in the past year, having responded to wildfires and flooding in 2023.
“The situation on the ground is devastating,” said Juan Camilo, WCK’s Response Lead, who is on the ground in Viña del Mar. “Official reports estimate that 15,000 houses and 90,000 people have been affected by the fires. That means that around 25% of the population of Viña del Mar was affected by the fires.”
Impacted communities unite to support neighbors
WCK sees communities come together everywhere we go. After disasters, people step up to fill vital leadership roles, helping guide their friends and neighbors through the aftermath. Luz has become one of those people in her neighborhood known as Las Pataguas. Since the fires, she has worked to make sure people in the community are taken care of, organizing and distributing the aid that has come to them so that everyone gets the support they need. WCK has delivered hundreds of meals to Luz daily, and she and her family distribute those meals to her neighbors.
Luz and her family working hard to serve meals to their community.
WCK-provided meals give people nourishment and strength, and Luz’s caring, dedicated leadership is bringing hope to the community. “She and her family lost everything they owned, yet they still smile and find strength to help their neighbors,” said Jorge, WCK’s photographer who has watched Luz take care of her neighbors day after day. Meanwhile, Luz says she has a lot to be thankful for herself: “I am fortunate,” she said. “I am alive.”
Old friends in new places
In August of 2023, WCK was serving hot meals in Licantén—about 250 miles south of Viña del Mar. Severe flooding in the area forced 30,000 people to evacuate their homes and left many without power. We served more than 15,000 meals in 12 impacted communities during this response while working alongside incredible local volunteers.
Just hours into the current response, Juan Camilo got a text: the volunteers from Licantén were on their way to Viña del Mar in cars loaded with aid. These incredible individuals—who had faced devastation in their own communities just six months ago—knew what the aftermath of a disaster felt like, and they were determined to help. When they arrived in the city, our teams greeted them with hugs—happy to see them again, heart broken that it was because of another disaster, but most of all, grateful for the extra hands that are allowing us to help more people.
Top photos: WCK reunites with volunteers from Licantén. Bottom photos: WCK team and volunteers in Licantén in August 2023.
Looking ahead, our teams are working to scale up the number of hot meals our local restaurant partners are preparing each day. FGS will play an integral role in this. Like WCK, they are a chef-led organization that promotes food security and human and environmental health across Chile. FGS is helping us onboard restaurants and supervise the quality of food, so we can ensure that people receive full, balanced, and nourishing meals.
“The food that we deliver every day in the communities that have lost everything as a result of the fires not only provides nutrition,” said Camila, FGS’s Director and Coordinator for Social Development who is working alongside us in Chile, “it is a moment of love, accompaniment, and dignity.” Working alongside Camila and FGS, we will continue serving the people of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso as they assess damage from the fires and begin recovery efforts.
The food that we deliver every day in the communities that have lost everything as a result of the fires not only provides nutrition. It is a moment of love, accompaniment, and dignity.
Camila
Director and Coordinator for Social Development
Help us continue feeding families impacted by the fires.
