SPOKANE, Wash. – Local chef Jeremy Hansen and his team arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday to cook for the millions of people left without housing and power after Hurricane Maria.
They said they checked into a hostel with no clean water and only a few hours of generator power per day. According to FEMA, about 70 percent of the island is still without power.
Chef Hansen has already started cooking. He is working with World Central Kitchen and with FEMA. The World Central Kitchen team has been desperate to find a group like Hansen's team, capable of setting up a pop-up kitchen in the remote village of Utuado. This village has 3,000 people that to date, has received no aid.
"It sounds like it's pretty hit hard over there so it's crazy. Anyhow we're going to set up a kitchen and cook for 3,000 people every day for the rest of the month," Hansen said.
Hansen said the conditions are worse than what is captured on TV.He said he feels blessed to be there to help bring some relief to the many U.S. citizens still in need.