World Central Kitchen facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | WCK |
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| Formation | 2010 |
| Founder | José Andrés |
| Type | Not-for-profit non-governmental organization |
| Purpose | Food security |
| Headquarters | Washington, DC, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a special group that helps people get food when they need it most. It's a not-for-profit group, which means it doesn't try to make money. Instead, it focuses on helping others.
WCK was started in 2010 by a famous Spanish American chef named José Andrés. He began this work after a big earthquake hit Haiti. Since then, WCK has helped in many emergencies around the world. They have provided food after big storms like Hurricane Harvey, volcanic eruptions, and even during difficult times like the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis.
Sadly, some people helping with WCK have been hurt or died while working in dangerous places. This includes a volunteer in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 2023. Also, eleven aid workers were tragically killed during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Seven of these workers died in an aid convoy attack in April 2024.
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How World Central Kitchen Helps
WCK has given meals to people in many countries. These include Australia, the Bahamas, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, the United States, Turkey, Syria, and Palestine. They also teach people how to cook in places like Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Zambia, and Peru.
Helping After Natural Disasters
WCK often steps in quickly after natural disasters.
- Haiti (2010): After the 2010 earthquake, WCK set up kitchens and gave out food. They also helped start a cooking school there in 2015.
- United States (2017): WCK worked in Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey. They also helped in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, serving over two million meals in the first month. They faced challenges but kept cooking to feed people.
- United States (2017-2018): WCK helped during wildfires in California, like the Thomas Fire and Camp Fire. They also set up kitchens after the 2018 lower Puna eruption in Hawaii and Hurricane Florence in South Carolina.
- Bahamas (2019): WCK opened kitchens to feed people after Hurricane Dorian.
- Australia (2020): During the big bushfires, WCK delivered meals to firefighters and people affected.
- United States (2020): When the COVID-19 pandemic started, WCK helped feed passengers stuck on a cruise ship. They also turned some restaurants into soup kitchens to help people affected by the pandemic.
- Turkey and Syria (2023): WCK set up mobile kitchens after the big 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.
- United States (2023): They helped in Vermont after a flood and in Maui, Hawaii, after wildfires. In Maui, they provided thousands of meals each day with the help of volunteers.
Helping with Food Needs at Home
WCK also helps people who need food in their own communities.
- United States (2019): During a time when the government was temporarily shut down, WCK opened a restaurant in Washington, D.C., to feed federal workers who weren't getting paid.
- United States (2020): During the COVID-19 pandemic, José Andrés changed some of his restaurants into places that gave out free meals. WCK also worked with local restaurants to deliver meals to hospital staff. They even used the Washington Nationals baseball stadium as a kitchen to prepare free meals.
Helping in Conflict Zones
Ukraine (2022–present)
When the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, José Andrés and WCK quickly went to help. They set up kitchens in border areas and in cities like Kharkiv, Ukraine, to give out meals. By March 2022, WCK had eight kitchens open near the border with Poland.
Sadly, a local volunteer was killed in 2023 when a missile hit his apartment in Kharkiv.
Gaza (2023–present)
WCK has been very active in helping with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As of May 2025, they have provided over 130 million meals.
WCK has helped deliver food through airdrops by other countries and by sea. They paused their work on April 2, 2024, after Israeli airstrikes tragically killed seven of their employees.
Maritime Corridor ("Operation Safeena")
In February 2024, WCK worked with another group, Proactiva Open Arms, to send food and water to Gaza by sea. A tugboat named Open Arms carried a large amount of food.
This idea for a sea route to deliver aid was first suggested by the president of Cyprus. The ship left Cyprus on March 11, 2024, carrying almost 200 tons of food. The goods were checked by officials from Cyprus and Israel.
The shipment arrived on March 15 at a beach in Gaza City. WCK said this was the first boat to reach Gaza with aid in almost twenty years.
Awards and Recognition
- For his work with WCK, José Andrés won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for Humanitarian of the Year.
- Time magazine named José Andrés one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2018 because of his work with WCK.
- In 2021, José Andrés received the Princess of Asturias Award for "Concord" (meaning harmony and agreement).
- In 2021, Jeff Bezos gave José Andrés a Courage and Civility Award and $100 million for his work with WCK.
- In 2024, José Andrés and WCK were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by important US politicians like Nancy Pelosi.
Tragic Losses
Ukraine
On July 25, 2022, a missile attack in Chuhuiv killed two WCK volunteers, Sardor Hakimov and Viktoria. On June 2, 2023, a 60-year-old Ukrainian WCK volunteer named Igor was killed in Kharkiv by a missile strike on his apartment. On July 10, four more Ukrainian WCK volunteers, Tatyana, Iryna, Olga, and Vitaliy, died in a missile strike in Orikhiv.
2024 Deir al-Balah Airstrikes
On April 1, 2024, seven WCK employees were tragically killed in Deir al-Balah by Israeli airstrikes. Six of them were from other countries, and one was a Palestinian driver. After this sad event, WCK announced they would stop their operations in Gaza for a while.
The people who died were:
- Saif Abu Taha (Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha), a 26-year-old Palestinian driver from Rafah. He was happy to help people in need.
- Damian Soból, a 35-year-old Polish national. He had worked with WCK since 2022, helping in Ukraine, Turkey after an earthquake, and Morocco after an earthquake. He also helped refugees from Gaza in Egypt and Gaza itself.
- Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, a 43-year-old Australian. She also volunteered in Pakistan and Bangladesh during floods and helped deliver aid in Haiti.
- James Henderson, a 33-year-old British national and former Royal Marine.
- John Antony Chapman, a 57-year-old British national and former Royal Marine.
- James Kirby, a 47-year-old British national and former soldier who served in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
- Jacob Flickenger, a 33-year-old Canadian-American citizen. He was an 11-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and served in Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife and son.
See also
In Spanish: World Central Kitchen para niños
- We Feed People
