1,000,000 meals & ramping up: #ChefsForAmerica update
It’s now been a month that WCK has been working urgently in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, and we have served more than 1 million meals. We’ve expanded our work throughout the country and beyond our borders to more than 65 cities in 20 states and territories, as well as 7 cities in Spain.
WCK’s Relief Team is working to keep identifying the most vulnerable communities at risk of going hungry. In New York, we continually see lines around the block of people picking up meals to feed their families. With millions of people suddenly out of work and not receiving a paycheck, the situation is more serious than ever.
In New York City, with support from Related and Wells Fargo, we opened a new distribution site at 55 Hudson Yards. From this location, WCK’s Relief Team is serving first responders and frontline medical workers at the Javits Center, which has been set up as a field hospital to care for patients recovering from COVID-19.
As a special thank you to the EMTs, paramedics, doctors, nurses, and National Guard working over the holiday weekend, our friend, Master Pastry Chef and Chocolatier Jacques Torres, dropped off the most incredible chocolate bunnies! Our team gave the special treats to frontline workers as they came by to pick up fresh meals.
With generous support from Audible, WCK has been able to expand our efforts in Newark, New Jersey. We have partnered with local restaurants to cook and serve thousands of meals already, and we will be bringing more restaurants on board to feed those in need. By utilizing local restaurants to serve their community, hospitality employees can keep working while those in need continue receiving food.
In Washington, DC, we’ve moved to Nationals Park where the team can produce more meals for communities in the region. The fresh meals we prepare at the stadium are going to senior communities and those hardest hit by this pandemic. Additionally, we are feeding first responders like the DC Metropolitan Police Department who are working day and night serving the community during this crisis.
Across the country, we are working with a dozen restaurants in Oakland to feed families experiencing homelessness as well as first responders operating coronavirus testing sites. We are again using the model of putting restaurant employees back to work to serve their communities through the crisis.
WCK will keep reaching more communities who need it most, feeding families, frontline healthcare workers, and first responders keeping us safe. To get the latest updates about our work, follow us on Instagram and Twitter. To help us provide more meals, donate here.
