During the last week of September, Azerbaijan seized the entirety of Nagorno-Karabakh—a disputed region in the South Caucasus that is also called Artsakh. As a result, tens of thousands of people fled into Armenia to escape the increased hostilities. First arriving in Yerevan, Armenia's capital, these families dispersed throughout the rest of the country to stay with relatives and friends.
Our culinary teams set up a Relief Kitchen in Yerevan where they cooked nearly 10,000 meals daily, while restaurant partners provided thousands more hot meals. Meanwhile, our Community Outreach Team scouted all eleven regions of the country to ensure no one in need of food was overlooked.
WCK has strong culinary partnerships in Armenia, which helped us provide warm meals, sandwiches, and water to families as soon as they crossed the border into the country. Chef Corps member Aline Kamakian and volunteers from the Armenian General Benevolent Union began serving meals to families in Yerevan as our Relief Team made its way to the country. We also worked alongside Chef Aline in 2020 when she supported our work in Lebanon following the Beirut explosion that devastated the city.
By the numbers:
* 319,500 hot meals provided
* 37 local partners
* 363,321 pounds of food kits distributed