World Central Kitchen – a non-governmental organization whose representatives died in the Gaza Strip, has been providing food and other aid to victims of natural disasters, refugees and those affected by conflicts for several years. What is the history of this organization? It was founded by a famous restaurateur.
The American charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), whose seven representatives were killed on Monday in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, was created by the famous chef Jose Andrés and his wife Patricia in 2010.
Attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy in the Gaza Strip Mohammed Saber/PAP/EPA
SEE ALSO: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: we know the identity of the Pole who died in the Gaza Strip
World Central Kitchen was founded by restaurateur José Andrés
José Andrés, born in Mieres, Spain, left for the USA at the age of 21, where he initially worked in restaurants in New York and Washington. In 2003, he opened his first minibar, and then his subsequent ventures were successful. He won many awards, and the restaurants he founded received prestigious Michelin stars. In 2010, after the earthquake in Haiti, he visited the island and the result was the establishment of World Central Kitchen.
Last September, when Andrés appeared on The View, host Whoopi Goldberg noted that World Central Kitchen had fed more than 300 million people over the years. Then he talked about the beginning of the organization. In 2010, when the earthquake and subsequent humanitarian disaster in Haiti occurred, he was on one of the nearby islands. He said he had seen similar tragedies many times and decided that this time he had to do something. – I told myself that I would not stand on the sidelines, watch TV and wonder what to do. I decided to go there and see how volunteer chefs like me can help and feed these people together, Andrés said.
SEE ALSO: Sikorski after the death of a Pole in the Gaza Strip: I asked the Israeli ambassador for urgent explanations
World Central Kitchen – how it helps
WCK provided food to people who survived the earthquake, but over time the organization began to conduct training and provide food and other assistance to victims of other natural disasters as well as refugees and those affected by conflicts, including: in Nicaragua, Peru, Cambodia and Cuba. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine, the organization has served tens of millions of meals in Ukraine. After the invasion, the organization began to help refugees on the border with Poland, as well as victims of attacks in various parts of the country – including the most dangerous ones. On site, in addition to WCK volunteers, you could also meet its managers – including Andrés. Famous show business figures appealed to support WCK, including: actress Jennifer Aniston.
World Central Kitchen also helped feed Ukrainian refugees in Poland. The Warsaw branch of the organization was visited in February 2022 by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and in March, President Joe Biden visited the WCK organization’s stand at the National Stadium, hugged the crew members and thanked them for their work for refugees, and called Andrés his friend.
In March this year, WCK organized the first humanitarian transport to the Gaza Strip by sea from Cyprus. A second aid shipment containing 332 tons of food was scheduled to arrive there this week.
The interior of the destroyed World Central Kitchen car in the Gaza Strip, April 2, 2024. MOHAMMED SABER/PAP/EPA
photo-source">Source of the main photo: PAP/EPA – Mohammed Saber
