Cooking After the Quake: How WCK Has Responded in Myanmar
When a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Myanmar in late March, homes, lives, and jobs were disrupted in the blink of an eye. Access to food immediately became a challenge for families. WCK teams set out to support the most impacted communities, especially those surrounding the epicenter in Mandalay. Over the past month, our teams have been adapting to challenges. They’ve worked nonstop to create partnerships with local restaurants, support the flow of food, and serve over 1.5 million meals to Burmese families.
In the days after the earthquake, our team had their work cut out for them. Many buildings had been leveled, leaving residents displaced and without the ability to cook. We immediately began serving ready-to-eat meals, which we use to make sure that critical food is getting to the most impacted communities as quickly as possible. Soon enough, we built a network of local leaders, bringing on 22 suppliers across the region to help us scale our efforts.
We also began work creating Community Kitchens, where we empower local organizations or community groups with the ability to cook. Our Community Kitchens have become critical to this response. Comprised of local partners and cooks, Community Kitchens have channeled WCK support to provide meals to families around the Mandalay area. We provide ingredients to these kitchens, who work to cook and serve meals. All 11 Community Kitchens have served over 160,000 hot meals to families. Watch WCK’s Chef Oli explain more:
We have also been distributing WCK family kits, which include shelf-stable ingredients like sugar, flour, salt, and fish paste– all commonly used in beloved Burmese dishes. Our fresh vegetable kits, which include garlic, onions, and ginger, have provided much-needed support to families who have lost access to produce and ingredients.
“The only problem with this model is that it takes time to be produced, as it requires a lot of different items in small packages,” says Chef Oli. “That’s why we establish partnerships all along the countries where we have been responding, to start their production ASAP if some crisis pops up.”
Sometimes, families are able to cook for themselves, and sometimes they prefer that. We provide food kits for the people who can cook and hot meals for the people who are not able to cook.
David
Senior Distribution Manager
The logistics of an operation like this are no small feat. One of the most challenging elements of this response has been sourcing and distributing food from suppliers, given both the large quantity of food that our kitchens need to operate and the nature of the disaster. Here’s how we source supplies:
While scouting the affected area, our teams learned that families in need of food were on the other side of the Ayeyarwady River, the main river that flows through Myanmar. We quickly set to work, accessing boats through local partners to cross the river and bring food to the community. Through this process, we distributed over 1,000 meal kits and vegetable kits.
“We went to one of our restaurant partners’ [restaurants] and we ordered food. It had rice, and I started eating the rice with a fork. The local team was like, ‘No, you have to eat it with a spoon,’ and of course, it was much easier. Now I know that you have to eat rice with a spoon,” said WCK’s David, a Senior Distribution Manager. “Meeting with the local team and getting to know them better, share their culture, share a meal with them…I think that was really special.”
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