2024-03-22 00:05:00
The American chef of Spanish origin, owner of the “World Central Kitchen” organization, Jose Andres, succeeded in delivering 200 tons of food to northern Gaza, in cooperation with the Spanish “Open Arms” organization, in a step that represents an integration with the efforts of relief efforts in the Strip, and a continuation of the effort. The Central Kitchen Foundation delivers food to those in need during disasters and crises, inside and outside the United States, according to the Washington Post and American media.
The Washington Post said that the Andres ship is the first of the relief ships that sailed towards the Strip, carrying food, since 2005, and that it preceded international efforts in doing so. Andres, who left his parents’ home in Spain 15 years ago, was able to make a name for himself in the world of restaurants, whether through books or practical practice. After he traveled to the United States of America and obtained American citizenship, he founded the World Food Institute at George Washington University, and then He founded what he called “Global Central Kitchen” in 2010, and in 2018, the American “Time” magazine chose him as one of the most important influential figures in the world.
The step to establish the “World Central Kitchen,” directing its efforts toward the victims of wars, earthquakes, and calamities in the world, which took the form of a non-profit organization, was the most prominent in Andres’s career, according to the “Washington Post,” whereby he established 60 sub-centers in the world, concerned with providing Food during disasters to different regions of the world, as it sent food aid to those fleeing in Ukraine during the war, to those affected by earthquakes in Japan, and to those affected by forest fires in Texas. It also provided urgent meals to victims of various disasters in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Peru, Cuba, Uganda, and Poland, and to Different regions during the Corona (Covid-19) crisis, especially for children or the elderly. Four of the organization’s staff in Ukraine were injured by combatant fire, but they insisted on continuing their work, according to the CBC News website.
Andres said on the “Kitchen” website, explaining his message, “Through our model of rapid action, by taking advantage of local resources, and adapting to the actual time available, we are conveying a message to people that a nutritious meal in a time of crisis is much more than just a plate of food, it is hope, it is “Dignity, and it is a sign that someone cares about disaster victims.”
Andres remained neutral during his humanitarian work, but his position was sometimes not without a political touch. According to what was published by the Washington Post on April 24, 2016, Jose backed down from the idea of establishing a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel after US President Donald Trump’s statements against Mexican immigrants. He has a general interest in issues of immigration, the hunger crisis, and childhood obesity.
In 2021, the owner of the Washington Post handed over $100 million to Andrés, the “Courage and the City” award, and the chef and international humanitarian missionary received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University, according to identical press sources. Regarding the idea of sending food to Gaza, Andres said: “The aid will be distributed through the (Global Central Kitchen Network) located in Gaza, which includes more than 60 kitchens and warehouses.” The American Al-Hurra channel said that the organization (Central Kitchen) revealed that it had provided more than 35 million meals to the displaced in Gaza, and that its team in Cyprus had another 500 tons ready to be loaded.
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