WCK serves thousands of meals daily on Maui

The Hawaiʻi wildfires ignited in mid-August and quickly became some of the most devastating to ever impact the United States. Blazes on Maui destroyed the heart of the coastal town of Lahaina, and cut off entire communities from power, water, and basic food supplies. WCK’s Relief Team arrived in Hawaiʻi two weeks ago and has since delivered more than 60,000 meals to families, mostly in West Maui, who have been impacted by the fires.

Destruction in West Maui was widespread and food needs acute. To ensure anyone in need received a meal, WCK began supporting Chef Hui and Common Ground Collective—two organizations who have worked within the Maui community for years. Our team was connected to this group by Amanda Corby, and Chefs Mark Noguchi and Sheldon Simeon who are all part of Chef Hui, as well as being WCK Chef Corps members.

Chef Hui and Common Ground Collective assembled a group of Maui-based chefs to prepare thousands of hot meals out of the culinary school at University of Hawaiʻi Maui College.

Now, basic services like electricity are being restored and businesses are reopening. However, families on Maui are still in need of food. Even though some grocery stores on the west side of the island are now open, many people are out of work or lost everything to the fires, and we want to ensure food is one thing they don’t have to worry about. To meet these needs, WCK’s teams are adopting new strategies and forging new partnerships.

We have begun partnering with Maui-based organization Local Harvest to support their twice weekly farmers markets that have been a community mainstay for more than a decade. WCK teams are purchasing locally grown produce from Maui farmers that families can pick up at the markets for free. This ensures we get the best possible ingredients for community members who are now able to cook for themselves, while at the same time supporting farmers on the island impacted by the fires. Meanwhile, dozens of WCK volunteers will be using ingredients supplied by Common Ground Collective to put together produce boxes that will be given out at our meal distribution sites.

Also starting this week, we are establishing a WCK Field Kitchen where our team will cook thousands of meals daily. This kitchen will be closer to Lahaina and will free up the culinary school for students set to start a new academic year in the coming weeks.

WCK teams have been working all week to build our Maui Field Kitchen that will provide thousands of meals daily to families on the island.

We are working hard to stay connected with the Maui community and understand how WCK can best help to support them. No two days are alike, but thanks to the outstanding chefs and volunteers working with our teams, we are able to continue doing our part to be there for people in need. Learn more about our efforts in Hawaiʻi.

Local partners have provided invaluable knowledge that is helping guide our response on Maui. We invite you to learn more about two locals, Mark and Harold, who, despite incredible losses, are showing up every day to support their neighbors.

SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS IN HAWAIʻI

Relief Team supports firefighters on Tenerife

WCK’s Relief Team landed on Tenerife—the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands—last week as emergency crews worked to control the worst wildfire on the island in decades. The blaze has burned nearly 50 square miles of land and forced thousands of evacuations. Within hours of arriving on the island, we began providing sandwiches and cold water to firefighters.

Our team quickly identified the greatest need for support was among emergency crews working nonstop under grueling conditions. To best support these teams, we partnered with a local bakery to provide hundreds of sandwiches daily, along with ice-cold water and delicious local bananas, to firefighters on the frontlines. Despite challenging terrain, first responders have made considerable progress controlling the flames. At one point the fire was so hot that water being dropped from airplanes was evaporating before hitting the ground. We will continue to provide meals to fuel crews as long as our help is needed.

WCK teams mobilize for Tropical Storm Hilary

Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall along Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Sunday before heading north into the US. Original forecasts predicted the storm would make landfall with hurricane-level intensity, but the system thankfully weakened throughout Sunday from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm. WCK teams had prepositioned in Mexico, California, and Nevada and began assessing meal needs as soon as the storm passed through each region. Within hours of the storm hitting Mexico, we loaded sandwiches and water onto a helicopter in Cabo San Lucas and headed more than 400 miles north to Santa Rosalía, making several stops along the way to assess damage from the storm.

While assessing impacted communities, our teams in all regions are finding that food needs are being met locally and have started winding down our response. However, small pockets where WCK support is needed have been identified in Mexico and Nevada. We are providing hundreds of sandwiches daily in Santa Rosalía as families in the area recover.

Outside of Las Vegas, in Mount Charleston, Nevada, the storm dumped 10 inches of rain onto an area that normally receives less than an inch a year. When our team arrived in the area, we realized WCK could provide immediate support to families forced to evacuate by flooding. First responders on ATVs went up the mountain to pick up residents and bring them back down to a place where the roads were passable. There, we made sure residents could pick up meals as they boarded buses to be driven further down the mountain to a resource center or to reunite with families. WCK also made sure that first responders, utility workers, and all others helping in the process were fed.