Initially headed for Tampa Bay, Hurricane Ian shifted its path further south making landfall on Cayo Costa, a barrier island outside the bay at Fort Myers. Upon its arrival, Ian had sustained winds of 150-mph—7mph below the threshold for a Category 5 storm. The hurricane is one of the strongest to ever hit the west coast of Florida.
Before arriving along the coast and sweeping through central Florida, Hurricane Ian already brought heavy wind and rain to south Florida spawning multiple tornadoes. Millions were without power and life-threatening storm surges damaged homes and caused major flooding.
Within hours of the storm’s passing, we began distributing sandwiches and cooking hot, nourishing meals at our Relief Kitchen. Additionally, we built partnerships with restaurants who helped us scale to meet widespread needs.
Chefs For Florida
Visual Stories
Vandy chose not to evacuate from Fort Myers Beach because she wanted to gather her belongings and check on her neighbors. She is in her 70s and has lived in the Red Coconut mobile park for 18 years. The park had been in Fort Myers Beach since the 1920s, but now Ian left it completely wiped out. Behind Vandy is her car, flipped under a palm tree.
“Thank you for being here, for remembering we’re here. I got two meals knowing my roommates will want a bite.”
Pine Island
“It takes a village to take care of the village.”
Pine Island residents are the force behind rebuilding following Hurricane Ian’s destruction. Left cutoff from the mainland, WCK first flew in hot meals & water—later establishing 3 WCK meal sites run by the community!
Julianne
Julianne
“Once the hurricane hit, we were sheltering in my son’s school. We lost power, water, cell service—everyone thought we were dead for days. When we came back to our house, the water was up to my knees. Now we’re cutting the walls because the mold was up to our waist. We had to throw away everything from the refrigerator. Our street is a lake! The first days we kayaked back & forth to get home.”
Curby
Curby
“We were cleaning up & we were starving. We saw the food trucks & came over. They told us it was free, and I asked, ‘What? How?’There is no Democrat here, no Republican. No left or right. This is all of us feeding & working together.”
Kathy C & Kathy K
Kathy C & Kathy K
Kathy C & Kathy K were married two days before Hurricane Ian. Kathy K is a photographer—when she returned home after the storm, the first thing she found were photos of her grandkids. On what should have been their honeymoon, they were packing up to start over.
Chefs For Florida
200,000 Meals Served One Week After Hurricane Ian
Between the WCK Relief Kitchen and our local restaurant and food truck partners, we’re serving thousands of daily meals across hard-hit communities and we continue to adapt to any evolving needs.