A Day with WCK’s Relief Team in Oakland, California
Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in mid-March, WCK’s Relief Team has deployed across the country (as well as in Spain, Indonesia, & the Dominican Republic) to feed communities most impacted by shutdowns. Through this effort, WCK has provided nearly 25 million meals to people in almost 400 cities. In California alone, millions of people are now unemployed, causing huge concerns about food security. In Northern California, we have partnered with more than 125 local restaurants to serve 80,000 meals every week. Here’s a closer look at one day with WCK’s Relief Team on the ground in Oakland.
Feeding thousands of people every day begins in the kitchen with a single plate. Stella Loi is the owner of Sobo Ramen, one of the over 2,400 restaurants in WCK’s Restaurants for the People program. The day we stopped by, Stella and her team were preparing braised pork, bok choy, carrots, pot stickers, brown rice and their signature heart-shaped carrot. The meals were destined for seniors, so the chefs prepared softer foods.
Sobo Ramen prepares hundreds of meals each week with us. Stella told our Relief Team “WCK is a lifesaver to us. Without the order we can only do take-out and deliveries and it is so little and we don’t make profit…Because of WCK, six people have a stable job. We’re like a family, we laugh all day long.”
Just across the block from Sobo Ramen, the team at Cam Anh Deli Restaurant was busy assembling Banh Mi sandwiches filled with bbq grilled pork with fresh cilantro, cabbage, carrots, and cucumber.
Owner Cam Anh has an infectious energy—when she’s not in the restaurant, you’ll find her running or dancing, always with a smile on her face. Her restaurant was not even open a year when the pandemic hit, so she quickly pivoted to find a way to remain open. “WCK saved our lives and we couldn’t ask for better.” Meals from Cam Anh head to children at Lincoln Square Recreation Center in Chinatown.
At the Asian Resource Center, meals arrive from Sobo Ramen and 9 other restaurants—900 plates in total. WCK provides meals for families here two days a week. Eugenia is a WCK volunteer at the Asian Resource Center distribution site. She greets every recipient with presence and love, and told us, “I feel like I am serving my aunties, grandmas, and grandpas and it feels really good. During coronavirus there has been a lot of heat on Asian people and it feels good to support in this way.”
Michael is another WCK volunteer at the Asian Resource Center. After becoming incarcerated at the age of 17, he spent 23 years in prison. Now, Michael loves to volunteer in the community and he speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin. After his shift serving meals with WCK, he volunteers with seniors in Chinatown. “I feel good when I help people, my whole life I never thought about it. When I got out, I help out whoever I can.”
As WCK’s team handed out meals, they chatted with recipients. We met Yongchang Lou, who is originally from China. She walks and takes the bus to get to the Asian Resource Center distribution site. She was there to pick up food for herself and her very single 30 year old son, she told us.
“I love the food and I’m glad it’s not too spicy. I appreciate the people who are here early in the morning passing out tickets as well as the volunteers in the afternoon. Everyone is very helpful and smooth with the whole process. Thank you.”
Our meal distribution at the Asian Resource Center is a partnership between WCK, Stephen & Ayesha Curry’s Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation, and Good Good Eatz, a recently formed platform that works to raise awareness for smaller businesses that may have limited access to resources. Trinh Banh co-founded the organization along with Tommy Wong when they saw the effects of the pandemic on small businesses in Chinatown. Within 10 days of partnering with WCK, they found a location and a team – and they rallied the community.
“With all that is happening in the world, you get to see goodness firsthand, every single day. You get to see people who show up.”
To see more stories like these, and read about our efforts in other cities, follow WCK on Twitter and Instagram. Help us continue to provide fresh meals by donating here.
