José Andrés Fed 30,000 People in Puerto Rico Yesterday

The unstoppable José Andrés is steadily making his way towards his goal of feeding 100,000 people in Puerto Rico by the end of the week. Yesterday, the chef and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen served 30,000 meals from kitchens in San Juan, established a new kitchen in Ponce, and set forth a plan to activate school kitchens to feed even more people affected by Hurricane Maria.

Andrés, now known as much for his disaster relief efforts as for restaurants in D.C., Las Vegas, and elsewhere, landed in Puerto Rico last week, and, according to the Washington Post, he’s planning to stay on the island until next week. Since arriving, Andrés has expanded his operation from fellow chef Jose Enrique’s restaurant kitchen to include a kitchen at San Juan’s Coliseo, a kitchen in Ponce, and most recently, school kitchens all over the island.

In a video for FEMA, Andrés explains his plan for activating school kitchens. With the support of other organizations, Andrés believes working school kitchens could provide at least 20,000 meals a day in each location. World Central Kitchen and #ChefsForPuertoRico will focus on establishing eight kitchens in key areas of need, while FEMA and the Department of Education get kitchens at schools throughout Puerto Rico up and running. “Before we know it, we are going to have probably over 100 kitchens in the schools of Puerto Rico,” Andrés says.

Access to water is another challenge facing Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane, and one that Andrés is taking steps to address. Yesterday, he bought palates of water from Coca-Cola Puerto Rico, and used his Twitter platform to praise the US Navy and FEMA for getting drinkable water to the island. Meanwhile, President Trump’s trip to Puerto Rico revealed an astonishing misunderstanding of the very concept of water filters.

As his efforts continue, the @chefjoseandres Twitter feed is turning out to be the best place to go for uplift this week.

• @chefjoseandres [Twitter]
• José Andrés Wants to Serve 100,000 Meals in Puerto Rico By the End of the Week [E]
• A tale of two Puerto Ricos: What Trump saw — and what he didn’t [Washington Post]
• José Andrés, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has become the face of American disaster relief [Washington Post]