The next is the transcript of an interview with Chef José Andrés, founding father of World Central Kitchen, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Aug. 17, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We flip now to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, the place the Hamas-run Gaza Well being Ministry stories that the whole variety of starvation-related deaths has now risen to 250, together with 110 kids, seven of these deaths within the final 24 hours. World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés joins us this morning from Jerusalem. He visited Gaza late final week. Good morning. It’s uncommon to get a glance inside Gaza. The IDF doesn’t enable journalists in to freely report, however they allow you to in. What did you see?
JOSÉ ANDRÉS: It was a day journey. I used to be in a position to go early within the day and go away earlier than sundown, and I go to our main- certainly one of our two important kitchens inside Gaza in Deir al-Balah. And I used to be in a position to go to the few warehouses now we have there, the bakery, the kitchens, and spending a day attempting to see what else the groups want, what else we must be doing, how we’re going to be growing the recent meals and bread that we’re producing proper now. So this was a day, once more, to point out help, to see by myself and assess the scenario of our personal kitchens. And that is what I’ve to report about that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The U.N. says that there’s hunger occurring in Gaza, Israel’s Prime Minister says there is no such thing as a hunger. What’s actual?
ANDRÉS: Clearly, there’s at all times a grey space, however we’re making bins for youngsters that we all know they’re in very- a particular want scenario. I noticed these bins being made with the title of each one of many kids. We have to do not forget that throughout many weeks, no meals was going inside Gaza, and that is two- two million folks. So within the locations we all know we’re feeding, we’re doing round 200,000 meals a day, however that is solely 10 % of the necessity. That is what we try to extend. I can say that the place we’re, clearly, folks are- are being fed on the naked minimal. It is not all the things they need to be receiving, however on the very least they’re receiving a chunk of bread and a chunk of meals. However we want far more assist. We have to guarantee that the help is rarely interrupted once more. We have to guarantee that the stream of vehicles retains occurring. We have to guarantee that now we have protected roads so these vehicles can attain their supposed supply place. We have to guarantee that all of the NGOs which can be actively attempting to do the most effective they will to care for folks inside Gaza- and that is past meals, clearly, medicines, and many others., and many others. We have to guarantee that the help is huge sufficient that we do not get to these moments where- in some areas, like within the north, that’s nonetheless very troublesome to succeed in, that we all know that persons are determined for meals.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You talked about for a lot of weeks no meals was allowed in. That was a authorities coverage. There was a blockade for a lot of months. That’s now lifted formally. However as you say, your group desires to scale up. You are attempting to supply a million meals a day in Gaza. Are you able to get the gas in to do this? Are you able to get the meals in? Are Israeli officers providing you with a inexperienced mild?
ANDRÉS: Properly, it is one million as a result of we’re a company that we specialise in emergencies and in meals, however clearly we’re requesting that each one the NGOs which can be collaborating in feeding are given extra entry, together with us and different organizations like Anera, which was one of many organizations we work with that they have been in Gaza for a lot of, many decades- and lots of others. We have to guarantee that all people has entry. For that, we want quite a lot of issues, the vehicles inside Gaza. We have to do not forget that the vehicles come from exterior Gaza, and there they’re put apart. After which we have to reload the vehicles which can be inside Gaza. This takes time. We’d like extra vehicles inside so the trucking firm can have sufficient folks and sufficient vehicles to have a relentless stream. I’ve to report that, sure, I noticed stream of vehicles stepping into. I do not- round 150 to 250 vehicles are stepping into day-after-day. However even I’ll say that this isn’t sufficient. We have to guarantee that we massively increase- that we massively guarantee that no one needs to be strolling for miles to attempt to attain a spot the place they will discover a plate of meals or use a bag of rice. We have to make sure- like what World Central Kitchen does, at one second we had, you recognize, 100, 200 kitchen companions. We have to guarantee that we’re cooking the place folks dwell. We have to guarantee that we’re feeding them the place persons are, so the folks do not should be, once more, leaving their neighborhoods, leaving their tents and strolling for hours backwards and forwards solely to attempt to carry little little bit of meals again house.
MARGARET BRENNAN: By way of strolling to designated areas for meals, you are referring to the mannequin that the Israelis have arrange with the Gaza Humanitarian Basis. You might be saying that their most popular methodology of feeding folks is just not ample.
ANDRÉS: Properly, it takes a village, proper? To feed 2 million folks and extra in a- in a scenario just like the folks of Gaza are dealing with. That is why the mannequin we are- we’re pushing for is the extra kitchens now we have, the higher. Proper now, now we have 80 associate kitchens on prime of the 2 important World Central Kitchen kitchens, however that is not sufficient. We have to guarantee that we improve the numbers of World Central Kitchen, the large ones that folks can see on the webpage of World Central Kitchen or in my Twitter account. We have to guarantee that our associate kitchens, that they produce between 500 and two, three, 4 thousand meals every. We’d like to verify the bakeries are totally loaded with bread. We have to guarantee that now we have the gas. That is why we must be bringing pellets, as a result of now we have tons of of kitchens firing up day-after-day. We’d like the gas to have the ability to prepare dinner the meals. The massive bakery now we have, a bakery that was in partnership with the Kingdom of Jordan that’s doing virtually 50,000 loaves of bread a day. We’d like diesel to guarantee that we’re in a position to transfer the equipment to be very efficient, however that is just one bakery doing 50,000 pitas a day. We’d like many extra bakeries to guarantee that we’re ready to- to cowl the demand of two million folks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Earlier than I allow you to go, I’ve to ask you about an incident that occurred just a few days in the past. World Central Kitchen issued a press release saying the Israeli authorities instructed you armed folks had been posing as employees to your group. Is that the primary time that you have heard unhealthy actors try to pose as humanitarian employees? Have you ever skilled exploitation by Hamas?
ANDRÉS: Clearly, World Central Kitchen, we’re a younger group. Gaza is a really sophisticated place. I do know that is nonetheless form of underneath investigation on our aspect and all people else. However doubly, we’re there to be subsequent to the folks of Gaza, subsequent to the Palestinians. On the finish, what now we have is Palestinians feeding Palestinians. Solely in our kitchens, now we have round 600 Palestinians doing superb work simply attempting to feed their fellow residents, and that is what we plan to proceed to guarantee that Palestinians feed Palestinians, that Palestinians care for themselves, and we’ll be giving all of them the help we will to attain that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And I perceive you met with a former hostage whilst you had been in- in Israel, whose brother remains to be being held in Gaza. What did you study?
ANDRÉS: Yeah, I have been- I have been- I have been- I have been assembly with- with different- however these- I met with Iair Horn. His brother remains to be in Gaza. You already know, we had a two hour dialog. You already know, was exhausting to hearken to the story. Clearly, he desires his brother- his brother out. Right this moment is a really huge strike in- in Israel, and all people is asking for the return of the hostages. That is what needs to be occurring. That is what ought to be- let’s hope that this occurs, clearly, alongside of a cease-fire, of peace, the place no one is underneath bombs, the place no one has their family members away, the place no one is dropping their family members within the center of- of- of this- of this battle, the place all people is fed, the place we will begin the reconstruction of Gaza, the place each kids can obtain a plate of meals that they will return to highschool, the place, clearly, the hostages are launched, the place the folks of Palestine and Gaza can dwell in peace and the place the folks of Israel can dwell in peace. What is sweet for you should be good for me. Let’s hope that you simply no less than will cowl the essential minimums proper now of feeding all people, hopefully additionally the hostages being launched as quickly as doable.
MARGARET BRENNAN: José Andrés, thanks very a lot to your time this morning.
