D.C. chef and philanthropist José Andrés has been named Time for Kids' 2019 Person of the Year. In their story, the magazine says the ongoing work Andres' World Central Kitchen does for disaster relief is a force for good worthy of celebration.
Andrés, a longtime Washington-area resident born in Spain, has been widely applauded for the work his charity does to feed those in need and was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Less than a year ago, Andres fed furloughed federal workers here in the Washington area.
The disaster-relief portion of World Central Kitchen began after Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Haiti in 2016.
Since then, Andrés and World Central Kitchen have responded to over a dozen different areas affected by natural disasters. Andres stresses the value of a freshly-cooked meal in troubling times and strives to incorporate local ingredients and recipes where possible in his relief work.
Andrés responded to the Person of the Year honor on Twitter, saying, "Everywhere @WCKitchen activates around the world, kids are our inspiration." He said he was humbled and thankful for the award.
The chef also evoked President Donald Trump's response to the TIME Person of the Year Greta Thunberg. Trump had tweeted that the young climate activist had an anger management problem.
Andrés tweeted at President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, saying "let's all join and respect the children of the world."
