Caracas, Venezuela — Five days after the deadly June 24 earthquakes, as the death toll and displacement continue to rise, World Central Kitchen (WCK) is expanding its emergency response across the states of Miranda (Caracas), La Guaira, and Carabobo. Working alongside 19 local restaurant and community partners, WCK has already served thousands of fresh meals to families affected by the disaster.

Within hours of the earthquake, WCK activated our longstanding network of local restaurant partners, suppliers, volunteers, and community organizations to serve meals where they were needed most.

The initial phase of the response focused on ready-to-eat meal distributions while teams conducted rapid assessments. As needs became clearer, WCK expanded operations to support displaced families in earthquake-damaged neighborhoods, hospitals, shelters, and community centers throughout the region.

WCK’s longstanding presence in Venezuela enabled our team to respond immediately. Since 2019, WCK has supported communities across the country, including following Hurricane Julia in 2022 and Hurricane Beryl in Sucre in 2024. Those trusted relationships, local knowledge, and operational networks serve as the foundation of today’s response.

World Central Kitchen Founder and Chief Feeding Officer, José Andrés, says:

“The people of Venezuela have been struggling for so many years to make ends meet and feed their families. Through our local partners, we are now serving fresh meals across the earthquake zones—to rescue teams, hospitals, shelters and families. Venezuelans feeding Venezuelans. We will be there for as long as we are needed.”

The scale of need remains significant and continues to evolve. WCK teams are actively engaging affected communities while monitoring coastal and inland areas for additional displacement and emerging humanitarian needs.

The earthquake has compounded existing humanitarian challenges. Even before the disaster, millions of Venezuelans required humanitarian assistance. Damaged homes and infrastructure have further strained communities already facing longstanding social and economic challenges, making rapid, locally led response efforts even more critical.

Working alongside 19 local restaurant and community partners, WCK is preparing fresh, culturally familiar meals as close as possible to affected communities—supporting local businesses while ensuring families receive food quickly and with dignity.

To meet growing needs, WCK is expanding daily meal production, deploying food trucks to strengthen coverage across affected communities, and establishing an operational hub near Naiguatá to improve meal preparation, storage, and logistics closer to impacted families. The anticipated arrival of a bakery truck will further increase production capacity and support operations throughout the region.

As needs evolve, WCK remains committed to adapting and scaling our response, ensuring families affected by the earthquake receive fresh meals delivered with urgency, dignity, and care.

For more information or media enquiries, please contact:  
Roberta Alves, Director of Media Relations at ralves@worldcentralkitchen.org or +1 202.400.7483
Our full media team is reachable at press@wck.org