WCK is responding in Panama, where a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the Pacific Coast on Friday. Hundreds of aftershocks then caused further damage to homes, buildings, and roadways. The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings, and the Panamanian government issued a state of emergency. Our local partners will be serving meals to community members impacted by damaged infrastructure and decreased access to food.

Through our networks, we’ve identified communities near the epicenter where food support is needed. Working with local Chef Corps members Isaac Villaverde and Mario Castrellón, we’ve partnered with a restaurant in the province of Los Santos that will start serving meals to impacted families today. WCK will work closely with them over the coming days to strengthen and scale their efforts. 

This comes shortly after our response in Venezuela, where our teams supported families in Caracas and La Guaira as they began to recover from two back-to-back earthquakes that came only seconds apart. From June to September, WCK teams assisted in recovery efforts side-by-side with our local partners, community members, and Field Kitchen teams. 

WCK also responded to a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the Pacific coast of Colombia in August. WCK teams and our local partners served over 1 million meals during this response, connecting with our longtime partners in the area to care for communities in need. 

This remains a quickly evolving situation. You can sign up to our newsletter to receive more information and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for real time updates.

Support our efforts in Panama