Two months of ongoing rainfall resulted in the rupture of two dams, bringing severe flooding and displacing more than 60,000 people in eastern Brazil. The damage was widespread, affecting over 100 towns in the state of Bahia where homes and critical infrastructure were left completely underwater.
With food and water in hand, WCK’s Relief Team began by traveling to communities in Itambé and Itapetinga to see how we could best assist. One of the broken dams is in Itambé where the destruction took out their entire water system. WCK began supporting local restaurants to provide thousands of hot meals in lhéus, Itambé, Itapetinga, Dário Meira, Itabuna, and beyond. In Ilhéus, local partners GAP and Amigos Solidarios helped us distribute food to shelters and families in need.
By the numbers
Meals Served
WCK Restautant Partners
Distribution Sites
Chef Jeanie
Chef Jeanie
At Dona Restaurante Ilheus, Chef Jeanie prepares meals with love and guarantess that you can taste it in her food. Here she is cooking Quentinha—a traditional Brazilian dish with meat, rice, and beans.
Chief Sussuarana
Chief Sussuarana
On the indigenous territory of Tupinambá de Olivença, WCK provided hot meals, fresh fruit, and water for people impacted by heavy rains. Here Chief Sussuarana is distributing meals for the Igalha community. The floods polluted their water supply, so we also worked with them to get safe drinking water for families.
Chef Carla
Chef Carla
Chef Carla and her all-female staff cooked hundreds of dishes out of her sabor de casa (home of flavors). The floods affected her business but she was grateful to support neighbors in need with the food she loves.
