Chef José Andrés visits Mestalla food distribution initiative

An initiative debuted at Mestalla last month continued this week, as non-perishable goods and meals were shared amongst hundreds of Valencian families.

Valencia CF president Anil Murthy was in attendance to meet chef José Andrés, named one of the '100 most influential people in the world' by Time magazine in 2012 and 2018 and recipient of the 'Humanitarian of the Year' award from the James Beard Foundation, to see the initiative in action.

#ChefsForSpain, a campaign by charity World Central Kitchen, has provided more than 1.5m meals in various Spanish cities. In Valencia, Mestalla is the distribution point.

"It's great to be here at the stadium, at Mestalla. Football teams mean so much to the city. It's sport, but it means much more besides. There are festivals and the like, which are popular, but we all know what football brings to a city and how it unifies a city. The same place where people have been celebrating victories, dreams and league titles has now been converted into somewhere to give hope during an emergency. It's a very beautiful story. Places like this have to serve that purpose as well," said Andrés.

The chef received a Valencia CF shirt in honour of his visit, and the garment will form part of his personal museum at his restaurant in New York.

It was the first time Andrés had been to the stadium, and he thanked the VCF president for opening up and repurposing Mestalla to help those in need.
"For me, using the stadium makes me very happy. I'm delighted that you have lent this space to the Banco de Alimentos food bank. These people needed help, and I'm grateful to you for the initiative to help an organisation that is so important right now," he told Mr. Murthy.

This initiative, part of the social commitment campaign ‘AMUNTWorld,’ has been running for three weeks in collaboration with the Banco de Acción Solidaria charity, CaixaBank volunteers programme, Banco de Alimentos de Valencia foodbank and World Central Kitchen charity. On a fortnightly basis, food is given to those most in need.