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WCK response to wildfires in Athens

#ChefsForGreece
Athens | August 2024
World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team was in Athens, Greece supporting first responders and families impacted by wildfires northeast of the city. We worked with local restaurant partners to provide meals and water to anyone in need.

The fires started north of Athens in the town of Varnavas. Hundreds of firefighters and dozens of aerial water-bombers were battling the blazes that burned out of control. Additional firefighting support came from the international community. 

Thousands had to leave their homes amid evacuation orders for surrounding areas. A children’s hospital, a children’s home, two monasteries, and a military hospital were also evacuated. Much of the area was without power due to electricity cuts.

WCK’s Relief Team arrived in Greece soon after the blaze ignited and worked with local restaurant partners to provide meals to people in need.

#ChefsForGreece

This was WCK’s third time responding to wildfires in Greece. In August 2023, WCK provided thousands of meals to communities impacted by the fires in Rhodes, Evia, Corfu, and Volos. In 2021, we provided thousands of meals to families in Evia—located just north of Athens—as heatwave-fueled fires devastated communities in the region.

Help us continue supporting families impacted by disasters.

Latest from the ground

  • WCK’s team in Greece worked alongside IASIS—a local NGO focused on providing psychosocial support to communities in need—to get meals to families impacted by wildfires. Together, we provided warm meals and sandwiches to people in Nea Makri, a coastal town northeast of Athens.

    Twitter | 8/20/2024
  • WCK’s teams in Greece delivered meals and water to firefighters working to control the wildfires that forced families in the region to flee their homes. Conditions are improving as winds subside but huge swaths of forest have been destroyed by the blazes.

    Twitter | 8/15/2024
  • In Varnavas, the town about 20 miles northeast of Athens where the fires ignited, first responders are working to reestablish utilities. WCK is distributing food and water to crews in the area who have been working nonstop under grueling conditions.

    Twitter | 8/15/2024