When disaster strikes, World Central Kitchen is on the ground with free meals and help

When disaster hits, people pull together. Neighbors help out the less fortunate, city, county and state governments send assistance, and charitable organizations rally to bring aid.

And often, World Central Kitchen is already there, handing out hot sandwiches and local dishes.

Within a day of an EF-3 tornado ripping through Bay County, leaving at least five people severely injured and about 100 households displaced, two WCK food trucks started handing out free meals from food trucks.

"WCK partner Zap Zap is serving delicious Thai food to families impacted by the storms in Panama City Beach," WCK posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. "Communities here were hit hard by severe weather that left a path of destruction in the region.

"More food trucks are on the way to meet widespread needs," the nonprofit said.

That's as other WCK chefs, volunteers and partners are still helping feed people in Japan after an earthquake, in Gaza and other locations during the Middle East violence, and serving millions of fresh meals to Ukranian families.

What is World Central Kitchen?

World Central Kitchen (WCK), a nonprofit organization founded by award-winning chef José Andrés in 2010, is one of the first groups on the scene of hurricanes, earthquakes, torrential rains, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, tsunamis, refugee crises and war across the world. Anywhere people in crisis need to be fed, WCK's "team of food first responders" mobilizes and sets up rough and ready field kitchens, food trucks and distribution systems to get nourishing meals out by the thousands as quickly as possible.

"Deploying our model of quick action, leveraging local resources, and adapting in real time, we know that a nourishing meal in a time of crisis is so much more than a plate of food," WCK explains on its website. "It's hope, it's dignity, and it's a sign that someone cares."

What does World Central Kitchen do?

It began in Haiti, after the island was nearly destroyed by a powerful earthquake. Andrés traveled there to help but realized he wasn't making food the way the locals were used to.

“He realized that you have to respect people,” says Richard Wolffe, author and managing director of Andrés’ media group, ThinkFoodGroup. “Food is about community. It’s about having food your way and not the way some white savior thinks it should be cooked. That really shaped World Central Kitchen in all of its operations moving forward.”

Initially, WCK focused on establishing long-term, sustainable food programs in the Caribbean and Central America. But while helping with food relief in Houston after Hurricane Harvey struck in 2017, Andrés, WCK CEO and "Chief Feeding Officer," noticed multiple delays and gaps in humanitarian aid.

Soon afterward, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and Andrés was angered by the lackluster federal response. He quickly organized local chefs, food trucks and volunteers to help the communities while demanding that world leaders and other humanitarian organizations do better. Finding materials, working without power, scrambling over landslides, wading through flood-swollen rivers and carrying boxes of sandwiches to remote villages, WCK served nearly 4 million fresh meals after Maria.

The organization also helps establish kitchens and training programs to help communities with limited resources find better ways for sustainable food production. WCK organized the WCK's Chef Corps, consisting of renowned chefs around the globe, to help speed up response times and work within their communities.

“I'm gonna make sure I am the light in the dark room,” Andrés said. “I cannot try to fix every problem. But water and food? We are good at food and we're good at doing it because we're cooks. We understand the food systems. … We maximize the response in the most difficult situations. And we always seem to be able to adapt.”

To date the organization and the restaurants it partners with have served over 350 million chef-prepared meals, working somewhere every day since Maria to help communities recovering from crisis.

During the pandemic, Andrés quickly shut down his 19 restaurants around the world, including two 2-Michelin-starred restaurants, and organized other A-list celebrity chefs including Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri and Marcus Samuelsson to begin cooking out of their kitchens to feed laid-off hospitality workers, homeless residents and Uber drivers.

World Central Kitchen in Florida

This isn't the first time WCK has been in Panama City. Less than a month after Hurricane Michael rampaged across the Panhandle in 2018, WCK served over 150,000 meals to victims and local emergency response teams from over 55 distribution points.

In 2022, WCK was all over Southwest Florida feeding people after Hurricane Ian with local food truck partners, serving over 200,000 meals the first week and 825,000 meals within three weeks.

Where are the World Central Kitchen locations in Bay County?

WCK has two food trucks in Bay County and one in Alabama to help feed affected residents over the next several days:

• Fire Station #12, 9033 Highway 2301, Youngstown (noon to 8 p.m.)

• Newby's on the Curve, 4103 Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach (noon to sundown)

"World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is on the ground in Florida and Alabama supporting families impacted by a series of storms and tornadoes that swept across the eastern US.," an update from the site said. "We are working alongside Chef Corps member Emeril Lagasse’s team in the region as well as Chef Corps member Kelsey Barnard Clark and our network of local food truck partners to ensure meals reach people in need."

Jennifer McClellan, USA TODAY, contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida tornado: José Andrés' World Central Kitchen feeds needy