Gracias Guerrero
World Central Kitchen has wrapped up our response to Hurricane Otis in Mexico eight weeks after serving our first plates of food. Otis slammed into the state of Guerrero as one of the strongest storms to ever hit the region, and our teams were on the ground within hours. Working alongside impacted communities, WCK served 5.3 million meals, provided over 300,000 gallons of water, distributed 750 tons of dry goods, and partnered with 127 local suppliers.
Having cooked our last meals in Acapulco, we want to say thank you to the people of Guerrero for welcoming us into their communities and joining our teams to help as many families as possible. It is thanks to the incredible volunteers, local chefs, restaurant and tortilleria partners, and local producers that we were able to accomplish so much.
As our response wound down, we made our last visits to towns we supported for weeks. In the town of Embarcadero, local fishers invited us out on their boats to show us how they were using the fishing supplies WCK provided after Otis destroyed their equipment. The fish we caught that day were cooked up by Jesús and his wife at their beachside restaurant. They turned the fresh catch into mojarra a la talla with rice and beans and shared a final delicious meal with our team.
One of the last meals our Field Kitchen cooked was pozole (or posole): a traditional soup in Mexico often served on Christmas Eve. Our chefs whipped up pozole rojo with chicken and made sure to prep many of the traditional toppings for it—especially fresh limes! We worked tirelessly to provide holiday cheer along with meals during the final days of our response. You can read more about the festivities and WCK’s extra special volunteers—Santa and Mrs. Claus—here.
It is never easy to say goodbye to newfound friends, but the communities we served are on the path to long term recovery and WCK’s support is no longer needed. Learn more about our efforts here.
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