Local Chefs Join José Andrés for World Central Kitchen Mission

Humanitarian chef and Nobel Peace Prize nominee José Andrés, who has fed communities around the world through his nonprofit World Central Kitchen (WCK), will extend its reach to San Diego with the help of Craft Meals SD, the recently-launched food delivery service led by local chef Phillip Esteban. Facilitated through WCK’s Chefs for America initiative, which is already in place in cities like Chicago, New York, and LA, the program supports those most impacted by COVID-19 by funding fresh meals for children, seniors, and other vulnerable populations.

Starting tomorrow, Craft Meals SD will be providing 250 meals a day to local community outreach programs including Olivewood Garden & Learning Center, San Diego Food Bank, and Hugs and Bags, which advocates for the homeless.

Independently from Chefs for America, Esteban and his team have also implemented a #1FOR1SD program, matching every meal purchased from Craft Meals SD with a donated one. So far, the group has delivered meals to Sharp Memorial and Kaiser Permanente as well as local elementary schools and senior centers and is in line to donate over 700 meals just this week.

A similar effort has just gotten underway in Tijuana, where the World Central Kitchen has started to provide 300 meals a day to local clinics and healthcare workers. The nonprofit has been embedded in the area for a year, providing over 1,000 daily meals to nine area migrant camps. One of the local chefs who has been participating in the program since its inception is chef Ruffo Ibarra of Oryx Capital, who has been operating takeout service from his acclaimed Tijuana restaurant while running weekly online cooking classes.