WASHINGTON — Chef José Andrés’ nonprofit will soon send chefs to the polls in D.C. and Prince George’s County, dispatching delicacies to voters waiting for hours in long, lengthy lines. It’s an effort to keep voters from feeling the pangs of hunger, possibly leaving their poll places before casting a ballot.
“It is a little bit different than what we usually do, which is, responding to disasters and emergencies, crises,” World Central Kitchen CEO Nate Mook said. “But at the end of the day, it’s still about getting food to people in a challenging time.”
The effort known as “Chefs for the Polls” is already underway in Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. D.C. and Maryland will be next, when in-person early voting begins next week.
After months of declining donations and struggling finances tied to the coronavirus pandemic, World Central Kitchen still finds itself on precarious financial footing, Mook said.
“We’ve stopped operating in Nats Park because of limited financial resources," he said. "But helping voters here at home, when the stakes are so high, was too big a priority to miss.”
LINK: Click here to donate to World Central Kitchen’s Chefs for the Polls.
Mook said the nonprofit will serve communities in D.C. Ward 7 and Ward 8, as well as polls in Prince George’s County. World Central Kitchen will reactivate its facility in Nats Park beginning Tuesday, the first day of early in-person voting in the District.
The charity will also dispatch chefs and meals to one of the largest voting centers in Maryland planned for FedEx Field.
“Everyone should be able to participate, and we didn't want food to be a barrier,” Mook said. “We also wanted to use food as a way to create a sense of community around voting. We’re going to pursue that to ensure no one leaves the polls, leaves their chance to vote, simply because they need to eat.”
