Chef Jose Andres Feeds 3 Million Irma Survivors In Puerto Rico

BETHESDA, MD — A day after he appeared on "60 Minutes" to talk about his work to mobilize cooks, food trucks and supplies to feed a hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, Chef Jose Andres said through his charity that the team has now fed 3 million Hurricane Irma survivors. The owner of Jaleo in Bethesda and other DC area restaurants, along with an army of volunteers, have taken food around the island since the September storm left the American territory without power or running water.

In contrast, President Trump on Thursday gave his administration's response to the plight on the island a "10," even though half of the island's residents remained without electricity and other services in mid-November, according to Fortune. FEMA says 75 percent of the resident had drinkable water restored by the end of October. Andres, through his charity World Central Kitchen, and with the help of chefs went from a single kitchen operating out of Jose Enrique's restaurant in Santurce into a coordinated effort reaching thousands of families across the island, the charity says.

Chef Andrés and the #ChefsForPuertoRico network of chefs and volunteers have served communities in need across all 78 municipalities through 20 kitchens, including ongoing operations in Ponce, Vieques, Adjuntas, Naguabo. “We give thanks to the amazing people who have made it possible to cook and share these three million meals all across Puerto Rico,” said Andrés, chairman and founder of World Central Kitchen, in a news release.

Since arriving on the island on Sept. 25,World Central Kitchen has established a network of local chefs and partners. The organization has activated a local, committed network that can be sustained by local partners and the federal government, with the support of the people of Puerto Rico.

Other food operations under way include the American Red Cross, which has delivered hundreds of thousands of MREs (or meals ready to eat), meal boxes, and millions of pounds of canned goods and other staples to the island, reports GrubStreet.

Andres wanted to provide real food. He started with $10,000 of his own money and a slew of credit cards, he told Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" Sunday.

"Americans should be receiving one plate a day of hot food. That's not too much to ask in America. An MRE is very expensive for the American taxpayer. A hot meal is more affordable, it's cheaper," the chef told Cooper. "It's what people really need, it's what people really want. They feel all of a sudden that you are caring for them, that America is caring for them."

See the full "60 Minutes" interview here.

FEMA has provided more than 14 million meals and 11 million liters of water in all 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico, the agency told The Washington Post. That tally includes meals provided by state, local and volunteer organizations, such as World Central Kitchen, and much of the food is MREs, or meals ready to eat, which do not include hot food.

Donations to provide food and water are still needed, you can donate here and continue to spread the word with #ChefsForPuertoRicoon social media, says the charity.

Andres and others are cooking huge portions of food and using food trucks to disperse it in in parts of the island, which is still struggling to restore basic utilities and phone service a month after the hurricane devastated Puerto Rico.

The Miami Herald reports that month after Maria, 81 percent of utility customers are still without power.
Trump met with Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello at the White House Thursday, and told reporters he gives federal relief efforts a perfect 10, because "we have provided so much, so fast."
The New York Post reports the president said, "I'd say it was probably the most difficult when you talk about relief, when you talk about search, when you talk about all of the different levels, and even when you talk about lives saved."

Jaleo, located at 7271 Woodmont Avenue, is run by chef and owner Andres, who immigrated from Spain and later became a U.S. citizen. He famously dropped out of a deal with President Donald Trump to open a restaurant at Trump International Hotel in Washington in protest of the president's characterization of Mexicans as drug dealers and rapists; the duo are fighting it out in court.

The chef says immigrants, especially Latinos, are under attack, yet they are integral to farm work, wineries, commercial fishing and the food service industry. "It seems we are part of the American dream, but somehow it seems that America is not recognizing what we are doing," Andres told NPR.

You can donate to the charity through its website.

Images via World Central Kitchen YouTube video