Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen first became known to the mainstream after Hurricane Maria destroyed the island of Puerto Rico. They’ve fed millions of people in the aftermath of disasters around the world, and right here at home in the United States. The organization puts boots on the ground, sourcing local food when possible and putting lives back together with substantive food – and a smile – for those in need.
Today, World Central Kitchen is in Przemysl, Poland serving meals to those fleeing war torn Ukraine. Run by volunteers, WCK depends on our support to provide food relief to the refugees fleeing from their neighbor to the east. Naturally, Startup Cuba’s very own Chef Jami Erriquez, who has posted some of our most popular recipes like Cuban Sandwich Mac & Cheese and Pollo a la Barbacoa, has signed herself up and will be heading to Europe this month.
WCK works with volunteers both with professional kitchen experience and those without. All volunteers are trained to support the lines cooking, serving fresh meals or with purchasing and delivery of food. Fortunately, the volunteer opportunities at WCK in Poland are filling up fast but new schedules are posted each week.
Here’s the thing… Each volunteer has to pay their own travel expenses to Poland. For Jami, that’s (flights, ground transportation and hotel) about $1,700. So, we’re posting here to let you know, in case you’re inclined to make a donation to Jami’s travel fund. Even $5, $10 or $50 here/there helps; if she raises more than $1,700 she’ll donate the extra funds to World Central Kitchen.
I know she’d be grateful for your support. As would we, because we want to do all we can to help get to Poland.
Reach out to us if you have questions and/or if you would like us to connect you with Jami. Or, you can DM Jami on Instagram or Venmo. Gracias por tu apoyo.
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Ken Deckinger
Ken Deckinger is the co-founder and CEO of Startup Cuba and the executive producer and host of its namesake docuseries. A native of South Florida, Ken has been an entrepreneur for his entire professional career. Previously he was co-founder and CEO of HurryDate, pioneering the global concept of speed dating to 45 cities throughout the US, UK and Canada. HurryDate eventually evolved into online dating and was acquired by Spark Networks, the parent company of ChristianMingle.com and JDate.com. Ken is a graduate of Boston College and the University of Florida, where he was honored with the University’s Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Under 40 award and sits on the Board for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He actively advises entrepreneurs and is a two-time protagonist of a Harvard Business School case study. Ken’s filmmaking and journalistic journey is inspired by a love of travel and authentic connections with other cultures. He believes that the more we know about each other, through stories, the closer we can become — thus the mission of Startup Cuba: to amplify the voices of the people sharing stories in the Latinx space. After living in New York City for 15 years, he encouraged his wife to move their family to Miami to get back to his South Florida roots. Needless to say, it was a short discussion and he and his family now call Boston, where his wife grew up, their home.
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