Celebrity chef José Andrés is opening a kitchen in D.C. to provide cooked meals for federal workers and their families whose incomes are disrupted by the ongoing government shutdown.
Andrés announced in a tweet from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he attended the Plow to Plate Forum, that his non-profit organization World Central Kitchen will open a kitchen at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. to cook for 800,000 people who are out of work and not earning due to the shutdown.
Big news! We will open a kitchen on Pennsylvania Ave this week to join private sector effort to feed federal employees during the shutdown. It’s only fair to feed Americans in need! #ChefsForFeds 👨🍳👩🍳🥘 Follow @WCKitchen for more details! pic.twitter.com/PRBtlaNug6
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) January 14, 2019
“As you know, World Central Kitchen is always there to respond to any disaster to make sure that Americans and people around the world will not go one day without a plate of food. More than 800,000 federal workers are without a job. Many millions of Americans are going to go through hard times. And we believe that no person should have to go through the pain of not knowing what to feed the children,” said Andres.
The kitchen’s location and opportunities for volunteers will be made public soon, according to WCK’s Twitter account. Andrés said meals will be made available either to eat there or take home. He added that the facility will be “open for any federal family that needs food.”
“I hope it will be a call to action to our senators and congressmen and especially President Trump to make sure that we end this history of America where families are about to go hungry,” said the chef.
“We should always come together as ‘we the people,’ as Americans, bipartisan, Republicans and Democrats, all Americans. World Central Kitchen will be there for all Americans.”
Last year, Andrés was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his group’s work in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. In 2010, he established World Central Kitchen following a devastating earthquake that destroyed much of Haiti. His non-profit has also operated in other countries like Brazil, Cambodia, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
Last year in November, Andrés teamed up with another celebrity chef Guy Fieri to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for survivors and volunteers in the wake of the deadly Camp Fire that spread through Northern California.
Wednesday marks the 26th day of the partial shutdown of the federal government, which is the longest in U.S. history.