How a Spanish-American chef is providing free meals to thousands of Ukrainian refugees

Jose Andres has been running the World Central Kitchen since 2010. (Image: Screengrab from video tweeted by @chefjoseandres)

Spanish-American chef and founder of World Central Kitchen Jose Andres has set up kitchens on the ground in war-torn Ukraine and other border points feeding thousands of refugees for free. Andres, who has been running the World Central Kitchen since 2010 was at the Polish border a few days ago and has now moved inside Ukraine proving hot meals to people waiting for evacuation as the Russian invasion continues for the 10th day.

At a restaurant in Lviv, Andres has started aiding the staff who were already prepping meals for refugees for free every day. With the assistance of the World Central Kitchen, more food is being put on the plates of refugees who have been undertaking an arduous journey to safety.

The food is cooked fast and it finishes soon. Back at the kitchen, more meals are already being cooked for refugees to halt and eat and then continue their journeys.

In a video shared by Andres, he reports from the Polish border with Ukraine where a kitchen has been set up providing food to the hungry. There are kitchens in Hungary, Romania and Poland as well.

“People of the World…Reporting from the Ukraine border! This is one of the places @WCKitchen has hot meals. It is below freezing tonight & I am meeting so many refugees, families who are escaping & don’t know what’s next…We will do our best not to let them down!” he tweeted on February 28 along with a video that has over 3.5 million views.

“People are cold, families are cold. They carried whatever they could. They have children. Its freezing cold. We are already feeding in Romania,” he adds in the video.

People of the World…Reporting from the Ukraine border! This is one of the places @WCKitchen has hot meals. It is below freezing tonight & I am meeting so many refugees, families who are escaping & don’t know what’s next…We will do our best not to let them down! #ChefsForUkraine pic.twitter.com/YiEemUfLlC

— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) February 28, 2022

“A quick look at meal service tonight in Medyka, Poland! The team has served close to 1,000 meals to families near the border, and we’ll continue through the night. We have 2 different partners serving hot soup and paninis as well as serving fresh plates of pasta,” the Twitter handle of the organization posted with a video.

Both Andres and the World Central Kitchen are posting regular updates of where they are set up so that no one goes hungry in the escalating crisis.

In today’s video update, the World Central Kitchen is functioning outside the Lviv railway station where thousands of refugees keep arriving especially from the east.

“It’s below freezing outside the Lviv railway station where Ukrainians arrive through the night from the east. @natemook & the WCK team brought bograch, a hearty stew, to keep families warm. Ivan, a car dealer turned soup provider, setup a huge cauldron here!” the tweet reads.

It’s below freezing outside the Lviv railway station where Ukrainians arrive through the night from the east. @natemook & the WCK team brought bograch, a hearty stew, to keep families warm. Ivan, a car dealer turned soup provider, setup a huge cauldron here! #ChefsForUkraine pic.twitter.com/5NBABlTuFw

— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 5, 2022

Russia has announced a ceasefire to allow humanitarian corridors out of the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha after 10 days of violence that has killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians including children.