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    • Year in Review

    WCK in 2020

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    Dear Friends,

    This year has been difficult in ways none of us could have imagined, pushing many of us to our limits and for some, taking away our loved ones. But we have also seen the best of humanity, an endless supply of empathy pouring out in communities around the world, neighbors helping neighbors get through. And we have you to thank. Every single one of you is an integral part of WCK’s work – helping us feed people, support local economies, and show up for families in crisis.

    We wanted to share with you a look back at a year that we will forever remember with both heartache and hope – a time when we truly understood the vital importance of sticking together, and the healing power of a hot plate of food.

    In humanity,

    José Andrés
    Founder

    Nate Mook
    CEO

    Follow Along: 35 Million Meals

    Explore this interactive map highlighting our work across the United States in response to the pandemic. By clicking ‘next’ in the bottom left box, you’ll be taken through our efforts over the year—thank you for taking this journey with us.

    Explore the map of meals

    2020 Timeline: A Look Back

    January

    • After being shaken awake by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake at 4:30 AM on January 7, WCK’s local team in Puerto Rico begins cooking, eventually serving nearly 400,000 meals across the southern part of the island.
    • Record-breaking temperatures and months of drought led to the most destructive fire season Australia has ever seen, with over 16 million acres burned. WCK activates on the continent for the first time, serving hot meals to first responders and evacuees of the deadly bushfires.

    February

    • In Brownsville, Texas, WCK expands our #ChefsForThePeople effort to provide nourishing meals to families seeking asylum in the United States by cooking meals and walking them across the border into Matamoros, Mexico each day.
    • WCK serves our 3 millionth meal in The Bahamas after activating in September 2019 in response to Category 5 Hurricane Dorian.
    • As concerns over a deadly new virus rise around the world, WCK’s Relief Team goes to Japan to serve meals to quarantined passengers aboard a Princess Cruise ship in Yokohama.

    March

    • In an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, lockdowns quickly sweep across the United States. After serving meals to a second cruise ship docked in Oakland, California, WCK activates in the country’s epicenter—New York City—to serve meals to families in need. Emergency responses in Los Angeles, Little Rock, Washington DC, and Spain begin soon after.

    April

    • WCK’s COVID response in the US, #ChefsForAmerica, is active in 155 cities, and our team has served 3 million meals to healthcare heroes on the frontlines as well as families impacted by shutdowns.
    • WCK establishes a new model to feed communities in need: paying restaurants struggling to stay afloat to cook meals for neighbors who need access to fresh food…Restaurants For The People is born.

    May

    • Following WCK’s emergency response to Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas, we begin the next phase of support—strengthening the local food economy by expanding our Food Producer Network to the Abaco Islands.
    • WCK has served 10 million meals through our COVID-19 response and disbursed $15 million to local restaurants through Restaurants for the People.

    June

    • WCK and the Navajo Nation Diné team are producing 1,500 meal kits each week. The kits include a mix of pantry staples and fresh produce and are delivered to the elderly and other vulnerable community members so they can remain safe at home.

    July

    • Our Resilience Team continues expanding WCK’s work around food security in the Caribbean by bringing the Food Producer Network to the US Virgin Islands.

    August

    • WCK heads to Beirut, Lebanon after an explosion at the port causes mass destruction in a matter of seconds. Eight local restaurants help WCK serve 190,000 meals to survivors and volunteers cleaning the streets. 
    • A destructive derecho rips through the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and WCK is there to serve meals and provide solar flashlights to the community as they wait for power to be restored.
    • In what would become the worst fire season in California’s history, WCK begins cooking across the northern part of the state for evacuees, firefighters, and other first responders. 
    • Hurricane Laura slams the Gulf Coast of the United States and our Relief Team quickly starts serving meals to people affected in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

    September

    • One year after Hurricane Dorian hit the islands, WCK’s Food Producer Network has partnered with 12 food businesses in the Abacos and has awarded more than $175,000 in support.
    • Hurricane Sally batters Louisiana again, so our Mobile Relief Kitchens continue cooking for impacted communities. 
    • In Venezuela, WCK has served over 2 million meals to children in response to the humanitarian crisis. Despite challenges from the pandemic & increased fuel shortages, our local team—led by Andres—continues to serve meals in Merida, Caracas, Miranda, and Cagua. 
    • On the west coast, wildfires continue to burn, including around Portland, Oregon. WCK activates in the state for the first time, partnering with local restaurants to make sure evacuees and firefighters remain nourished.

    October

    • In an effort to put hope and community at the center of election season, WCK kicks off #ChefsForThePolls to serve people waiting in lines up to 11 hours long in Georgia.
    • WCK’s Resilience Team launches a monthly farmers market in Santurce, Puerto Rico, offering products from Food Producer Network grantees including produce, dairy products, and honey.

    November

    • Category 4 Hurricane Eta hits Central America and WCK responds in Honduras and Guatemala. Just weeks later, Hurricane Iota takes nearly the same path. Our response expands to the Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia.
    • Between early voting and Election Day, WCK’s #ChefsForThePolls initiative serves 500,000 meals while supporting 500 local food trucks and restaurants.
    • Teresa—WCK’s lead in Tijuana, Mexico—prepared a special Thanksgiving meal for refugee students attending the Yes We Can School. The team in Tijuana has been cooking meals for refugees at the border since 2018.

    December

    • After overcoming challenges that included both civil unrest and the pandemic, 38 young chefs graduate from WCK’s Ecolé des Chefs culinary school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
    • $135 million has been paid directly to restaurants through WCK’s Restaurants For The People program.