WCK in US and Mexico supporting communities impacted by hurricanes
World Central Kitchen teams are in four states serving meals and assessing food needs for communities in the southeastern US after Hurricane Helene. Prepositioning in the region ahead of the Category 4 hurricane enabled WCK to fan out and serve our first meals the moment it was safe thanks to our strong network of partners and new state-of-the-art vehicles. Now we are focused on widening our reach.
Florida
WCK’s Rapid Relief Field Kitchen, which is capable of serving thousands of meals a day, arrived less than 12 hours after Helene passed over Steinhatchee, Florida. Our team quickly set up and cooked almost 400 orders of chicken and rice for affected families. Cases of water were also on hand.
We met Janet and Kenny in Steinhatchee. Their home, lovingly called, “The Shack,” was pushed one entire block down the road by the storm.
Georgia
WCK’s Sam managed to reach Pearson, Georgia by helicopter to deliver sandwiches and water. The city was badly hit and Sam says many roofs are missing, and there are a lot of downed trees, and residents lack potable water and electricity. No other outside help had reached the community yet.
WCK teams are also scouting in Tennessee and North Carolina to find the biggest areas of need. With many roads rendered impassable into cities like Asheville, WCK is exploring all options to reach isolated communities such as further helicopter support and airboats. As always, we are relying on on-the-ground reports from trusted local contacts and WCK Chef Corps members.
Mexico
WCK teams are in hard-hit Acapulco, Mexico in response to Hurricane John. WCK’s Mario says five days of torrential rains have left some areas, like Diamante, completely submerged.Thousands of people remain trapped in their homes due to the high water levels, which exceed 6 feet in some areas. A year’s worth of rain fell in a matter of days causing landslides and severe flooding.
Despite significant challenges moving throughout the region, we are currently delivering quesadillas to shelters including a high school in Miramar. Our partners Chef Diego and Chef Avril from the Culinary School CEGAIN are working diligently to prepare food for as many people as possible.
WCK is also working on setting up a kitchen as soon as possible. We have a stock of kitchen equipment and food pallets ready to go having staged them in Mexico City following our response after Hurricane Otis in October. We are also connecting with partner restaurants, which will complement our kitchen operation.
The connections built during Hurricane Otis, when we delivered 300,000 gallons of water, 5.3 million meals, and 750 tons of dry goods to families allow us to be more nimble responding to this new challenge.
Help us continue supporting families impacted by hurricanes.
