We Feed People | Disney+ Original Review
“We Feed People” is a new feature film documentary by Ron Howard, which spotlights chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen’s evolution over a 12-year period, from being a scrappy group of volunteers to becoming one of the most highly-regarded humanitarian aid organisations in the disaster relief sector. Due to the unprecedented spike in natural disasters catalysed by climate change, this story is more important than ever, and even right now, the team is currently in Ukraine providing meals.
If you’re like me and have never heard of José Andrés before, don’t worry. The film quickly catches you up with an introduction to who he is and his career as a celebrity chef in the United States, who specialises in Spanish Tapas food. He has appeared on many TV shows, owned restaurants and released several books.
But this larger than life chef gets a unique call to arms following the earthquake in Haiti to go and try to help feed the starving people. He quickly realises there are many issues to overcome when you’re trying to feed thousands of people. The logistics of getting ingredients, somewhere to cook and getting the food to people, isn’t easy. Things take a turn for the worse when José is accused of profiting from the event, even though he has maxed out all his credit cards buying ingredients.
From this event, we slowly see how his charity, the World Central Kitchen evolves over time, dealing with one dire situation after another, including feeding people trapped on a cruise ship after it is quarantined during the early days of the pandemic and dealing with storms in Wilmington, North Carolina.
It’s a simple idea. When people are in need, turn up and start feeding people. It’s one of the basic needs for anyone, and unfortunately, it’s not always going to be easy. Feeding tens or hundreds of thousands of people a day, costs money. And no matter what they do, there is always someone who will go without.
This film isn’t all positive, as it showcases that while José is feeding people in need, he is spending less time with his family and becoming more grumpy, which results in him going to see a doctor about his mood. He simply can’t help everyone, and the constant red tape and fundraising are obviously taking their toll on him. Especially as he often takes his frustrations out on those around him. We also hear from his family, who explain how they originally got Twitter, so they could find out where he was.
As someone who has spent decades working in a kitchen, I found this to be an inspiring story of a celebrity chef who has completely changed their life, to help other people in need. He’s not out there on TV asking people to donate their money. He’s on the ground, cooking and organising a way to feed those in desperate need of food.
I really enjoyed this documentary and would highly suggest people check this film out, and if possible, even donate money to the charity to help provide some food for those in need.
“We Feed People” is a heartwarming story of José Andrés, who just wants to help people by doing the only thing he can. It’s a simple idea, but the logistics of doing so are incredibly complex. This is another excellent addition to Disney+ from National Geographic.
Rating 4 Out Of 5
“We Feed People” arrives on Disney+ on Friday 27th May 2022.
Since I often contribute to World Central Kitchen and do not have Apple Plus, I am very disappointed that I can’t see,“We Feed the People.” I don’t want a trial subscription. It should be open to all viewers and I’m sure there would be increased donations. Please rethink this or let me know if there is another place I can see this, please?
It's a Disney+ exclusive