José & WCK on the ground following massive tornadoes
Last Friday, deadly tornadoes devastated cities and towns across the central and southern US – a candle factory and entire communities were left in rubble in Kentucky, and in southern Illinois, an Amazon distribution center partially collapsed, tragically killing employees inside. As communities work to deal with the devastation, WCK’s Relief Team is spread throughout the impacted areas to provide thousands of comforting meals to families and rescue teams searching for survivors.
Shortly after the storm hit, WCK mobilized local restaurants and food trucks to provide immediate food relief. We now have over 25 local partners, including a collaboration with Chef Ed Lee and the Lee Initiative, and the WCK Relief team is cooking hot, nourishing meals from our own food truck for communities in need.
WCK is distributing meals throughout towns across Kentucky including Mayfield, Dawson Springs, Benton, Cayce, and Bowling Green. Buildings have been flattened and entire neighborhoods have a long, hard road to recovery, so WCK is making sure to provide round-the-clock meals for emergency crews as well as families who have lost their homes.
In Edwardsville, Illinois, WCK provided meals to emergency crews working tirelessly at the warehouse destroyed by the tornadoes. Our restaurant partner Old Herald prepared pulled pork sandwiches, pub chips, and fresh salad—responders told us it was the first hot meal they’d had in the cold temperatures since starting their efforts. Additionally, our Relief Team is providing meals and assessing for additional support in impacted areas of Arkansas and Tennessee.
The WCK team has also met amazing people supporting their neighbors. In Benton, Marcella—owner of Marcella’s Kitchen—immediately began preparing meals for anyone in need following the storm. She invited José to join her in serving food yesterday, and now WCK will support her efforts proving meals for the community.
While delivering lunch in the hard-hit community of Dawson Springs, Brandy and Allison who have been friends since 1st grade, were searching for documents in the now destroyed home of Brandy’s grandmother who thankfully survived the storm. Brandy was grateful to find her grandma’s bible. WCK provided them with local Newsom ham sandwiches with cheese and fresh greens.
A total of six states were hit by the series of tornadoes—an event of this magnitude is incredibly rare and was fueled by unseasonably warm and higher-than-average temperatures combined with high humidity. It is too early to determine the full impact but there are predictions that the series of tornadoes will be one of the worst in history to affect the region. WCK is committed to supporting communities impacted by climate disasters around the world, and through our Climate Disaster Fund, we will continue to search for and meet any needs for fresh meals in Kentucky, Illinois, and beyond, as long as we are needed.
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