WCK uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies through times of crisis and beyond.

In 2010, my wife Patricia and I had a big dream to start World Central Kitchen. We envisioned an organization that would use food to empower communities and strengthen economies, and for many years we saw an amazing impact through our clean cookstoves initiative, culinary training programs, and social enterprise ventures. But we had no idea we would one day be answering calls in Puerto Rico and around the world to serve meals in the aftermath of disaster – and we quickly learned that food is a powerful tool to heal communities in times of crisis and beyond.

In 2020, the world changed profoundly, and our daily lives were overturned in a way none of us could have ever imagined. We activated in communities around the United States and the world to meet the daily needs of families in need of a warm plate of food – and supported thousands of local restaurants in the process. We also responded to natural and manmade disasters in countries on five continents, from massive bushfires in Australia to a deadly explosion in Lebanon to devastating hurricanes in Central America. Our fight to feed hungry people has taken us to more places than we ever expected.