World Central Kitchen COVID-19 Response

Project Report | Jul 18, 2022
WCK Direct: July 2022

By Daniel Poole | Development Manager

WCK Direct Restaurant

Beginning in March 2020, World Central Kitchen (WCK) responded to the health, economic, and humanitarian consequences of COVID-19, providing meals to communities left without access to fresh food. In 2021, our pandemic response shifted from large-scale meal distribution to WCK Direct, our text-to-order program that has addressed the dramatic rise in food insecurity, the increased strain on the emergency food system, and the struggling restaurant industry.

Program activities have included:

Working with trusted community-based partner organizations to identify households experiencing food and nutrition insecurity due to the pandemic, including families who have suffered economic hardship and do not have access to adequate food support.
When families agree to join the program, onboarding them onto the technology-based platform and training them on how to use it.
Households placing orders through the platform via text (texting “FOOD”) or phone call, selecting a local participating restaurant to order meals from.
Restaurants receiving these orders, preparing the meals, and scheduling deliveries or packaging the food for in-restaurant pick up.
Delivering meals through DoorDash, which has offered free deliveries and access to their technology through a third party integration, or households picking up their meal at the restaurant.
Receiving feedback from households and restaurants on the operation of WCK Direct and regularly integrating this feedback into refining the program.

WCK has now served more than 500,000 meals to 4,500+ households through WCK Direct in nine cities: Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, and Oakland. We continue to receive very positive feedback from those involved in the program. One community based partner in Charlotte told us, “WCK Direct has been a blessing to the families in our community. As some of our community members still struggle to find jobs or with poor health due to the pandemic, WCK Direct has given them the opportunity to provide nutritious and delicious food for their families while maintaining their dignity and giving them peace of mind.” A restaurant partner shared that since joining WCK Direct, “...it just brings us a ton of joy to know we are supporting families in our community in a bigger way as we have for the last 10 years.”

Thank you for your support of WCK, which has made all of this possible!

WCK Direct Meal

Links:

WCK Direct

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Mar 24, 2022
WCK's Pandemic Response through WCK Direct

By Daniel Poole | Development Manager

Three Amigos in Charlotte, NC

When the pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, World Central Kitchen (WCK) mobilized restaurants across the country to cook for communities in need of support. Now in March 2022, we recognize that the need for food persists and has only been increasing due to COVID-19. In response, we continue to expand WCK Direct, our text-to-order program that addresses the dramatic rise in food and nutrition insecurity, the increased strain on the emergency food system, and the ongoing struggles of the restaurant industry.

Beginning in New York City and now across eight cities, eligible households can order meals directly from participating restaurants for pickup five days a week. There is an additional option to have meals delivered for meal recipients who do not have a means of transportation, are dealing with health complications, or for elderly folks taking care of their grandkids. Current WCK Direct cities are Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, and Washington, DC. So far we have partnered with 35+ restaurants to serve more than 336,000 meals through the program. We are pleased to highlight a couple of our wonderful restaurant partners below.

Peter, owner and chef of WCK partner Open Crumb in Washington, DC, cooks family-inspired, Ghanaian meals from scratch alongside his mother and two brothers. Most recipients ordering meals through WCK Direct from the restaurant choose to have their meals delivered, and, because many have now become regular customers, the team at Open Crumb recognizes families by name! One of their most loved dishes is a beef stew seasoned with thyme, cumin, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, and “a few of mom’s secrets.”

WCK Direct expanded to Charlotte, NC in early January 2022, and we have already served more than 11,000 meals! Miriam, owner of Three Amigos, shared with us, “This program just in these first few days has allowed us to reopen a location we had to shut down during COVID. Now, we can create job opportunities for our community.”

Program-wide, we are serving an average of 10,000 meals per week through WCK Direct — and growing. In 2022, WCK Direct will be expanding to more cities while continuing to work with local organizations to grow our impact in our current locations. Thank you for supporting WCK and our work!

The amazing team at WCK partner Open Crumb

A delicious meal through WCK Direct

Links:

WCK Direct

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Nov 24, 2021
WCK's Pandemic Response

By Daniel Poole | Development Manager

Georgina of Accra Restaurant

WCK’s pandemic response continues to prioritize our free text-to-order program called WCK Direct, which uses technology to enable households experiencing food insecurity to order meals directly from local, participating restaurants. Originally piloted in New York City last summer, WCK has expanded the program to Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Washington, DC. Across the five cities, we have served more than 200,000 meals through WCK Direct.

WCK has collaborated with community-based partners to identify families and individuals in need. Strong partnerships with local organizations and leaders help WCK understand the needs at the community level and ensure our work is locally-led and informed. One community-based partner in Chicago shared with us, “The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in the communities we serve and WCK helped us address the need seamlessly. WCK’s willingness to handle all of the logistics around food allowed us to focus on our mission of providing after-school and summer programming opportunities to teens in Chicago.”

We have partnered with 25+ local restaurants through WCK Direct that we pay to prepare meals, prioritizing independent and minority-owned businesses. Our partnerships put vital resources back into restaurants that have been affected by the pandemic and help them provide support for their neighbors. Located in the Bronx, Accra Restaurant specializes in traditional West African cuisine. Georgina, the owner pictured above, shared: "To those suffering from this pandemic, I want them to know that help is just around the corner. Help is here...We are so lucky to be a part of World Central Kitchen and to be able to give hope to my neighbors. When I got this space, I said to myself, 'Anybody, everybody who walks in and is hungry, please, let me serve them. Nobody will be in need at my table.’”

Thank you for supporting WCK and fueling our work!

Meal from TaKorean in Washington, DC

Beef stew from partner restaurant Open Crumb

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