When it comes to humanitarian causes, few people show up the way Chef José Andrés does. Over the years, he’s been a standout figure amidst dozens of tragedies, throwing every resource he has behind whatever crisis is unfolding. The Spanish chef announced an immediate $1 million donation through his foundation, World Central Kitchen (WCK), helping with the humanitarian emergency in Venezuela after the devastating earthquakes that struck last Wednesday, June 24.
As of this writing, the death toll in Venezuela has climbed to 920, with 3,360 people injured. Thousands more have been reported missing.
The Spanish chef took to X to announce that World Central Kitchen would be coordinating the delivery of resources to the areas that were hit hardest by the double earthquake that struck the north-central region of Venezuela, in the cities of La Guaira and Caracas.
© Getty Images“We’ll immediately contribute $1 million to help with the chaos from the Venezuela earthquake. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it looks,” he wrote on social media.
In a post from the organization, WCK confirmed that teams were already mobilizing to set up relief kitchens and get food to those affected. “WCK’s Relief Team is on its way to Caracas, Venezuela, to support families affected by two earthquakes that toppled residential buildings across the city. We’re working with longtime partners to get meals to residents and first responders as quickly as possible. We’ll share more information as soon as we have it,” the organization said in its official statement on X.
José Andrés and WCK’s Humanitarian Missions
© AFP via Getty ImagesJosé Andrés founded World Central Kitchen back in 2010. The organization’s first humanitarian response came that same year, after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti, which killed an estimated 300,000 people.
He’s spoken about the importance of helping others in numerous occasions, collaborating with other notorious figures for the benefit of others. “When people need medical care, you call in doctors and nurses. When infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, you bring in engineers and architects. And when people need to be fed, you need professional chefs,” Andrés has said of WCK’s mission.
The chef and his organization have responded to other disasters in past years, including Hurricane Otis in Mexico and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, along with other weather-related catastrophes that have devastated entire cities, such as the 2024 floods in Spain.
WCK’s kitchens have also shown up in conflict zones like Ukraine and Gaza, serving hot meals to the thousands of people impacted and displaced by those wars.
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