Royal Blue Grocery Raises Money for World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen, founded by Chef José Andrés (pictured), provides disaster relief all over the world, as when Tropical Cyclone Idai ravaged Mozambique in 2019 (credit: World Central Kitchen/WCK.org)

In collaboration with the Paramount Theatre and SXSW, Royal Blue Grocery at Sixth and Congress will host a fundraiser for World Central Kitchen on Saturday, March 19.

From 7am to 10pm, Austinites and SXSW attendees can shop for snacks, meals, and other sundries in support of the fundraiser; all sales will be donated to World Central Kitchen and its efforts in Ukraine and the surrounding countries.

"We feel incredibly motivated by the humanitarian crisis and WCK’s amazing response to it, so much so that we are donating our entire day’s sales at our Congress location on Saturday," says Royal Blue owner George Scariano.

The fundraiser coincides with the 3pm premiere of Ron Howard’s documentary, We Feed People, which follows WCK founder Chef José Andrés as he takes his disaster-relief organization from one struggling community to another, all around the world. WCK has served more than 1 million meals – and counting – in response to the crisis in Ukraine, distributing more than 100,000 meals per day in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.

Those who would like to donate but cannot make it to the store on Saturday can donate online (but we recommend treating yourself to a nice sandwich and also checking out the movie, which is excellent).