WCK activates in Puerto Rico in response to ongoing earthquakes
In recent weeks, Puerto Rico has been hit with daily earthquakes, including a 6.4-magnitude in the very early hours last Tuesday. Power went out across the entire island, and Puerto Ricans continue to experience aftershocks multiple times a day. After being shaken awake at 4:30am last Tuesday, our Relief Team immediately jumped into action. Lunch was served within hours as kitchens were activated in Yauco and Ponce. WCK’s local Relief Team served 2,000 meals that day. Here is a look at our ongoing efforts.
Just over one week after the earthquake, WCK has served more than 100,000 meals to over 90 locations, cooking from 3 kitchens and 3 food trucks. We are serving both lunch and dinner to government-run shelters and unofficial sites all around the southern part of the island where families are seeking refuge.
Earthquakes have continued to ravage the island. A 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit in the morning hours this weekend, causing communities to continue living in fear. Even families whose homes were not significantly damaged are sleeping outside, scared that an even larger quake could hit in the middle of the night.
WCK has a long history in Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria devastated the island in the fall of 2017, our Relief Team served nearly 4 million meals to communities recovering from the storm. As we purchased virtually all our produce directly from smallholder farmers, we gained tremendous insight into the needs of that community. In early 2018, we conducted an agricultural assessment of Puerto Rico and determined that the best way to continue supporting Puerto Rico was by helping its smallholder farmers.We created Plow to Plate, a grant program that aims to increase food security in Puerto Rico by providing funding, training, and networking opportunities to smallholder farmers and businesses that support local agriculture.
Many of WCK’s grantees jumped in to help in the earthquake relief effort. We have received hundreds of heads of fresh lettuce each day from Grupo Vesan, a resilient indoor farming enterprise. Additionally, CMTAS, a grantee located in Yauco, has been cooking WCK meals from their community kitchen normally used as a training center for sustainable practices. CMTAS was used as a de-facto feeding hub for the community in Yauco after Hurricane Maria more than two years ago.
In addition to cooking fresh meals, our Relief Team is handing out solar lamps provided by the Hispanic Federation in the hardest hit communities.
For real-time information, please visit https://twitter.com/WCKitchen. To donate and support our efforts, please head here. To volunteer with our team in Puerto Rico, click here.
Related News
-
WCK’s team in Puerto Rico arrived on the island of Culebra the day after Tropical Storm Ernesto made landfall. While assessing needs, we delivered food to a family who’s roof was destroyed by the storm. This week, we are providing dozens of meals daily to people on the island who remain without electricity.
