World Central Kitchen Is Working to Feed Displaced Israeli and Palestinian Families—Here’s How You Can Help

As many families are displaced in the region, the nonprofit is making sure they can at least count on a warm meal.

We can always count on World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit José Andrés founded back in 2010, to find ways to help the people caught in a humanitarian crisis. The charity kitchen works with locals to set up shop and provide free meals to folks who might otherwise go hungry—that mission has taken the nonprofit to Ukraine and Haiti and even to cities across America during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Now the team at World Central Kitchen is jumping into action to help feed the Palestinian and Israeli families displaced amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas that intensified earlier this month. World Central Kitchen has already set up kitchens in Gaza and Israel in an effort to feed those folks and offer some much-needed relief. This week, the organization shared photos and updates from their outposts in both locations, where they were serving plates of rice and meat and trays of potatoes, green beans and chicken.

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“Innocent people are caught in the middle of this volatile and escalating situation in both Gaza and Israel. In the midst of this violence, access to food and the means to cook for their loved ones is hampered,” the World Central Kitchen team shared on its website. “Members of WCK’s Relief Team have arrived in the region and are forming a network of new connections and working to discover avenues to provide critical food support.”

WCK is set up in Khan Younis, one of the largest cities in southern Gaza and a common destination for those evacuating from the north, through a partner organization called Anera. In 24 hours, WCK was able to help serve 30,000 plates of food to refugees in the area.

In the Israeli city of Netanya, which sits on the Mediterranean Sea, WCK has partnered with a local catering company, where they provided 1,800 plates of chicken and veggies to local families. They are working with partners in Israel to feed evacuated people. The nonprofit has also set up kitchens in neighboring countries to help any refugees that pass through.

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The kitchen’s future in the area is unclear for now—the organization’s website notes that while they want to be as helpful as possible to the people of Israel and Palestine, they also have to keep a close watch on the violence in the area to keep employees as safe as possible. Still, they plan to scale up efforts in the coming days.

Folks who want to volunteer with WCK in safer circumstances are always welcome, and you can also help support their work by starting a fundraiser or simply donating on your own.

Read the original article on Eating Well.