(NewsReady.com) – Chef José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen in 2010 to provide food aid to Haiti after the devastating earthquake that killed upwards of 300,000 people. In the years following the quake, the celebrity chef’s non-governmental organization (NGO) has delivered aid around the world. Now, it is responding to the crisis in Gaza.
On March 12, an aid ship carrying 200 tons of food set sail for the Gaza Strip. Open Arms, a Spanish aid group, is transporting the food for World Central Kitchen. The ship departed from Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Open Arms vessel is towing a barge with the food. Once it gets close to Gaza, small ships will tow the barge to a jetty that the World Central Kitchen is building. Andrés’ organization currently operates 65 kitchens across the territory, with plans to build at least 35 more. It plans to distribute the food being brought in on the barge in the northern region of the Gaza Strip.
Reports from northern Gaza indicate some of the people there have resorted to eating animal feed. Aid groups have said it’s difficult to get the food into Gaza. Andrés said he thinks, “The best security is to have enough food in Gaza.” He told The Associated Press that his organization wants “to make sure nothing happens to anybody.”
While Andrés finds ways to get the much-needed food to the Palestinian people, the US is planning to build a floating dock off the coast of Gaza, which will be used to get food into the area. It’s going to take about 1,000 US troops to complete the project.
Ultimately, the dock’s success will depend on Israel’s cooperation. The Jewish state currently restricts who enters the Gaza Strip, making it incredibly difficult to get food into the region. There has been an uptick in deliveries, but not nearly enough to meet the demand.
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