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World Central Kitchen, the culinary nonprofit operated by celebrity chef and noted humanitarian José Andrés, is partnering with area restaurants to ensure that people in the area’s most vulnerable communities have access to warm meals as Dallas-Fort Worth’s winter weather crisis continues.
On Wednesday, the nonprofit landed in Dallas and began distributing meals across the metroplex. In Frisco, juice bar Kwench and Southern restaurant Tupelo Honey joined in the efforts, preparing meals for local senior centers and people housed in area shelters. Over in Fort Worth, chefs at Wicked Butcher prepared individual meals of roasted chicken and vegetables for people taking shelter at a warming center in Haltom City.
World Central Kitchen will continue its feeding programs in Texas throughout the coming days. On Friday, chef John Tesar will start preparing meals for residents of a Dallas housing complex, and Tesar tells Eater that his restaurant Knife will be open on Friday serving food to anyone who needs it starting at 1 p.m. “If anyone needs food, we will have plenty,” Tesar said.
Starting on Wednesday, Andrés’s organization has worked across Texas during the winter storms that knocked out power and water service for millions of Texans. In Houston alone, World Central Kitchen distributed 2,000 plates of chicken wings, barbecue sandwiches, and other dishes to people in need in collaboration with locally-owned restaurants. The organization has also been on the ground in San Antonio and Austin.
For those who are unfamiliar with the World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit has worked to provide food to people impacted by natural disasters across the globe since 2010. In 2017, Andrés himself flew to Houston to prepare meals for people displaced by Hurricane Harvey. World Central Kitchen also distributed meals throughout the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is currently assisting with relief efforts in Indonesia and Venezuela.