Meet the Relief Team: New Mexico & Navajo Nation
“It’s not the meal… It’s the somebody loves you, somebody cares about you, somebody is thinking about you. Somebody got in a truck and drove out here to serve you a meal. That little bit of humanity, that little bit of empathy, that’s what World Central Kitchen is.”
In partnership with the Santa Fe Community College Culinary Program, WCK’s Chef Relief Team has worked in New Mexico the past several months, preparing and serving nourishing meals for the community as it navigates the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. With students in the kitchen—and seasonally grown produce from the school’s greenhouse in hand—the team has now cooked 50,000 meals for local families. Creating favorite dishes like Frito Pie and famous New Mexico chili, WCK delivered food in nearby pueblos, to students and families of Santa Fe Public Schools, and to anyone in need at walk- or drive-up sites.
WCK’s team in Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation – known as Dinétah to the Diné people – has been creating more than 1,500 meal kit boxes every week. These meal kits come in two boxes, one full of pantry staples including flour, beans, rice, and oats and the other containing fresh produce and eggs. The kits contain enough ingredients to feed a family of four for a full week. Our team delivers the boxes across Navajo Nation to elders who are isolating for safety as well as families with members who have tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, our Relief Team is handing out the meal kits at testing sites run by our partner organization CORE Response, so anyone getting tested for the virus can stay home until they receive their results. With COVID hitting the Diné community very hard, we want to ensure anyone in need of food can be taken care of while staying home to help stop the spread of the virus.
Louva McCabe Dahozy is more than 90 years young and a beloved figure in the community. The Diné call her “Our Mother” or Nihe’ Ma’ in the Navajo language. In her college years, she decided to devote her working life to help her people navigate the impacts of the traumas they have collectively faced, through education around nutrition. She established the first Navajo Homemakers radio program, which was broadcast in the Navajo language for ten years, teaching about nutrition, food preparation, recipes, and many other ideas on healing through food that aired across the nation.
Louva is also the grandmother of WCK’s Production Manager, Ollie, who oversees the team of 25 assembling the boxes each day. When we delivered her WCK meal kit, our team was delighted to find that Louva was very pleased with everything that was included, including plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and corn meal—a staple of so many Navajo dishes. The pinto beans got an extra cheer for being highly nutritious and filling!
Working out of the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center in Fort Defiance, our Relief Team is made up of many members of the local community, including recent graduates of Window Rock High School who make the production of hundreds of meals kits a day possible. Here are a few of their stories.
AJ and Hannah met in college in Oklahoma, and now AJ is spending the summer with Hannah and her family. The pair have been managing the egg station together for the entire month they’ve been working with WCK.
As the second oldest of six daughters, Sophia initially started working with WCK to support her younger siblings. As the University of Arizona student learned more about where the food was going, “it became about so much more,” she told our team. “Now, it’s not about the money, it’s about giving to my people so they don’t suffer anymore. Food is nature to my people. We grew our corn way back when. Food is love. In order to survive, you gotta eat.”
Window Rock High School graduate Kiara did not anticipate spending her summer assisting with pandemic relief. The recent graduate said, “it feels good to be able to help my people and make sure our elders are safe. Every time I see a grandma it reminds me of mine. I miss her very much. Whenever I think about the elders receiving this food, I put it into perspective of what if it were my grandma.” Kiara plans to study Biological Science at Arizona State University so she can go on to veterinary school.
On Sunday, July 5th, the Voices of Siihasin (Hope) concert hosted by Jewel and Orenda Tribe aired online, raising funds for World Central Kitchen to provide care boxes including meals to Diné children and families affected by COVID-19. You can see the entire concert here! Our goal is to deliver 47,000 boxes with funds raised. Donate at www.wck.org/vos.
