World Central Kitchen’s emergence as a highly adaptable and widespread emergency feeding operation has been driven by two main factors: skilled chefs who can quickly organize kitchens in the most challenging situations, and the undeniable charm of chef José Andrés, a wealthy restaurateur with extensive connections who is committed to feeding people in disaster areas even when it seems impossible.
Tragically, on Monday, seven workers from the organization were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. They had just unloaded 100 tons of food at a warehouse in Deir al Balah, a city in central Gaza, and were on their way in a vehicle marked with the organization’s logo along with two armored vehicles. Among those who lost their lives was a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, as well as individuals from Australia, Britain, Gaza, and Poland.
“I am devastated and mourning for their families, friends, and our entire WCK family,” Mr. Andrés stated on the social media platform X. The organization has paused its feeding operations there while it determines its next steps.
The global response to the killings — in a conflict that has already claimed the lives of at least 203 other aid workers, according to the Aid Security Workers Database — highlights the visibility of World Central Kitchen.
The concept for the organization came to Mr. Andrés in 2010 when he cooked with Haitians in a camp following an earthquake. They taught him how to prepare local beans, emphasizing the importance of region-specific dishes in providing comfort during disasters. This led to his involvement in building schools and training cooks in Haiti and other nations.
His approach, which involved a network of local chefs serving thousands of meals based on regional recipes, coalesced when he assisted in Houston after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Later that year, he arrived in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria wearing a fly-fishing vest filled with cash and cigars. Much of the island was without power, and people were hungry. Working with some chef friends, he began cooking and providing aid that government agencies and established relief organizations couldn’t. At one point, he convinced federal agents to transport food as they patrolled the area.
The organization’s focus was on preparing hot, familiar meals for displaced individuals. Offering fresh fruit and a bowl of sancocho, a Puerto Rican stew made by Mr. Andrés and his team in oversized pans, was more comforting than standard government-issued meals or processed snacks.
“I am bypassing bureaucracy and endless meetings,” he declared at the time.
Chris Barrett, an expert on international food assistance programs at Cornell University, noted that among aid organizations, World Central Kitchen stands out for its unique focus on cooking.
“They may be relatively small in the broader humanitarian assistance landscape, but their visibility is high, partly due to their leadership and also because they represent a different perspective from mainstream humanitarian responses,” he explained.
According to Mr. Barrett, the organization’s presence in Gaza is crucial due to the lack of a robust government aid infrastructure and limited food businesses for the primarily displaced population and relief organizations to access. In contrast, groups in Yemen and Syria utilize vouchers that people can use at stores, alleviating some of the on-site cooking responsibilities that World Central Kitchen assumes.
Mr. Andrés was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2018. The rise of World Central Kitchen coincided with many American chefs embracing roles as political activists, advocating for causes like hunger relief, urging the government for Covid assistance, speaking out against racism and sexual assault, and most recently, expressing opinions on the Gaza conflict.
“Chefs are among the most trusted and connected individuals in their communities,” stated Laura Hayes, senior manager of World Central Kitchen’s Chef Corps division. “They possess an innate drive to improve their communities and assist their neighbors.”
Ms. Hayes oversees a network of 400 chefs and restaurateurs who mobilize when disasters strike, volunteering to secure kitchen facilities, dispatch food trucks, and provide recipes and ingredients that those in need would find most comforting. World Central Kitchen also employs local cooks, with nearly 400 Palestinians working in the organization’s 60 kitchens. “The quality of our food is our top priority, along with speed and urgency,” she emphasized.
With renowned chefs supporting it and a clear mission that Mr. Andrés and his team regularly share on social media, World Central Kitchen became a favored choice for individuals who wanted to see tangible results from their donations. The organization raised nearly $30 million in 2019, followed by approximately $250 million in 2020.
In 2021, Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, awarded Mr. Andrés $100 million through his Courage and Civility Award. The chef reinvested the funds into the organization, which received $519 million in grants and donations in 2022.
According to several reports, the organization was expanding faster than its management structure could accommodate. Last year, Bloomberg News detailed allegations that Mr. Andrés had pressured individuals to distribute food in unsafe conditions and that the group mishandled a senior manager accused of sexual harassment. World Central Kitchen pledged to implement new safeguards, dismissing the manager and Nate Mook, the CEO.
The organization’s operations in Ukraine marked its first venture into a conflict zone. In March, Gaza became its second, demonstrating the agility of World Central Kitchen’s operations. Operating from numerous community kitchens in Gaza, staff and volunteers prepared hundreds of pans of mujadara, a lentil and rice dish topped with crispy fried onions, and assembled Ramadan food kits. The group dispatched over 1,700 trucks containing food and cooking supplies.
Sean Carroll, CEO of Anera, an aid organization that collaborated extensively with Mr. Andrés’s group to distribute meals in Gaza, commended World Central Kitchen’s experienced and highly professional operations, even in conflict zones.
Initially facing challenges in obtaining clearance to enter Gaza, World Central Kitchen provided guidance to Anera on key aspects of food aid, such as the appropriate serving weight (one pound), the ideal weight for a food delivery bag for individuals who may struggle to carry it, and the number of meals that could be included in larger food packages.
According to Mr. Andrés, the effort in Ukraine represents the largest food relief operation in the country. It commenced in February 2022 shortly after the Russian invasion, serving over 235 million meals to individuals in Ukraine and refugees in seven other countries. The Ukraine operation attracted celebrities and renowned chefs like Rachael Ray, who is planning her fifth humanitarian visit in May and has volunteered with World Central Kitchen.
During the conflict, a restaurant operated by the organization in Kharkiv, Ukraine, was struck by a missile, resulting in injuries to four staff members, as per a group official.
Kim O’Donnel, an author and food writer from Seattle, volunteered for the organization in Przemysl for a week, where she met Damian Sobol, one of the World Central Kitchen workers who lost their lives in Gaza.
Expressing concerns about the lack of safety protocols and instructions, Ms. O’Donnel mentioned that volunteers felt somewhat unsupported when not working in the kitchen, especially given the proximity to the border and potential risks related to the conflict. She felt that the organization should have provided more reminders about the volatile situation. The absence of a handbook or formal safety guidelines before her departure raised red flags for her. “While the work is essential, there are important questions that need to be addressed,” she stated.
“I am not assigning blame,” she clarified, “but I hope this serves as an opportunity for reflection and reassessment.”
Noah Weiland contributed to the reporting.
