As food shortages intensify in Gaza, WCK, Jordan's mobile bakery urge reopening borders

AMMAN — Amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the World Central Kitchen (WCK) and Jordan’s mobile bakery remain among the last lifelines for hundreds of thousands of civilians facing severe food shortages.

Since October 2023, WCK’s Palestinian team has provided over 130 million meals across Gaza, adapting to increasingly difficult conditions.

Currently, according to José Andrés, founder of WCK, the Israeli authorities have shut all crossings into Gaza, stopping humanitarian shipments and leaving food stocks critically low.

“We are now near the end of our supplies—and the limits of what is possible,” Andrés said. “The humanitarian crisis grows direr each day.”

No fresh fruit has entered Gaza for over a month, and the last protein stocks have already been cooked. Chefs have shifted from rice-based meals to stews made from canned vegetables, conserving both food and fuel, according to WCK.

To meet growing needs, WCK now operates Gaza’s only remaining bakery, producing 87,000 loaves of bread daily. The mobile bakery runs 19 hours a day and also supplies wheat flour to a local partner bakery. Bread has become a precious resource, often replacing full meals where cooking is no longer possible.

Facing acute fuel shortages, WCK teams have adapted by using wood from shipping pallets combined with eco pellets to power their stoves. Aid groups have donated pallets, and a local producer has helped create a new fuel source made from olive husks.

However, without immediate action to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, WCK has warned that it will no longer be able to continue its operations.

Jordan’s mobile bakery, deployed to Gaza on December 24, 2024, under Royal directives, is also playing a critical role. Working in coordination with WCK, the Jordanian bakery has become the sole provider of bread to many local communities, producing over 75,000 loaves daily with a capacity of 3,500 loaves per hour.

Stationed in central Gaza, the bakery is part of Jordan’s comprehensive humanitarian response to the ongoing conflict, which also includes the delivery of food, medical, and relief supplies by land and air.

Despite immense challenges, Jordan and WCK have reaffirmed their commitment to alleviating the suffering in Gaza.

WCK has stated its readiness to welcome aid trucks from Egypt and Jordan— but to do so, the crossings must reopen and the aid must be allowed to enter Gaza. Without urgent intervention, the last remaining sources of food aid in Gaza may soon be forced to halt.