WCK’s LA Wildfire Response: Your Top Questions Answered
As our founder, José Andrés, says, “Everyone is a part of World Central Kitchen, they just don’t know it yet.”
WCK’s Los Angeles Community Outreach Manager Trish Engel was invited to answer questions during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) on her experience in disaster response, including our ongoing Southern California wildfire response. Here are five of our favorite questions from the event.
Q: u/drinkicedcoffe
How are you all able to mobilize your teams so quickly in times of disaster?
A: “It’s one of our biggest non-negotiables at WCK, and it requires a ton of hard work and commitment from the response teams…One thing that makes a big difference is having that value baked into the culture—everyone knows not to wait to be convenient or have the perfect answer, start moving and getting meals out and we’ll solve challenges along the way.
Our Chef Corps members can help us organize and set up operations quickly. They also lend us their kitchens, and sometimes, their staff, in order to help scale production quickly. With their support, we’ve served over 700,000 meals in Southern California since January.
Q: u/Levitus01
What criteria are used when determining your “menu” (cost, logistics, local ingredients) and how do you weigh trade-offs?
A: The process of creating a menu for disaster relief is deeply rooted in our commitment to the communities we serve. Chefs’ first job is to identify the regional food while also being mindful of cultural preferences and dietary requirements. Our ultimate goal is to feed a comforting, well-balanced meal that will not only feed the body, but also feed the soul.
We try to use locally sourced ingredients to support local farms and businesses. We do have to weigh that with cost and availability, so it varies by situation.
Ultimately our mission is about more than just providing meals, it’s about supporting communities and ensuring they have the resources they need to rebuild and recover with dignity.
Q: u/Substantial-Two8680
How do you mobilize volunteers? Do you reach out locally from a list of available people?
A: Local volunteers come with a lot of knowledge about their specific communities that really impacts how we cook, who we work with, and where and how we distribute. At the beginning of our responses, we look at our Volunteer Corps members registered in our database. We reach out to volunteers from the affected areas as much as possible, and we also create relationships with community members who can guide us to other community groups that can help. If you’re looking to learn more or sign up for the Volunteer Corps, email volunteer@wck.org or visit this page.
Everyone knows not to wait to be convenient or have the perfect answer, start moving and getting meals out and we’ll solve challenges along the way.
Trish Engel
Los Angeles Community Outreach Manager
Q: u/Papayacrispy
What are the first few steps/phone calls etc you make when you find out WCK is getting mobilized in response to an event?
A: We organize ourselves into a few different teams, and each one gets to work on their own track. Some of our very first outreach is to the chefs or restaurants we know in the area. Those conversations give us real-time feedback on the level of damage and impact on the community– they also help us to understand their kitchen’s capacity and ability to start cooking. At the same time, we’re getting team members there, starting scouting to see where the need is and how we can best distribute…the team works nonstop, especially in the first few days.
In LA, we distributed meals at evacuation shelters early on. Later, we began dispatching food trucks around the city. This way, they could cook for large groups of people while still remaining mobile in case of emergency.
Q: u/LeoMatthewsBand
Do you have any dogs?
A: I have two dogs that I love more than anything: Zepplynn & Floyd. Zeppy is a rescue from the California desert, and I actually found Floyd in the earthquake zone during WCK’s response in Türkiye. They might officially be rescues but we all know I’m the real rescue here.
(In February of 2023, two earthquakes—one magnitude 7.8, the next 7.5—devastated communities in Türkiye and Syria. WCK’s team, including Trish, worked with local partners and regional nonprofits to serve 20,000,000 meals to impacted communities.)
To learn more about our relief efforts in California, read the rest of Trish’s responses here and follow #ChefsForCalifornia across our social media channels.
