Hobart chef Teddian Jackson, who owns the popular Montego Bay Grille in downtown Hobart, is organizing food trucks to deliver meals prepared by World Central Kitchen this week.
Many Gary residents still don’t have power since the Aug. 11 derecho storm that swept across Northwest Indiana, leaving a trail of downed trees and damaged power lines. As of 4 p.m. Saturday, 29,511 NIPSCO customers are still dealing with power outages, including 17,693 in Gary, 3,184 in Lake Station, 2,950 in Portage, and 1,884 in Hobart.
Jackson said Saturday the effort is tentatively slated to begin Thursday.
Jackson said a fellow chef told him World Central Kitchen was trying to get in touch with him to help with organizing.
Jackson is familiar with World Central Kitchen’s operation.
“I am Jamaican. Jamaica just experienced its worst hurricane in history in October of last year,” Jackson said. “World Central Kitchen was one of the first on the ground in Jamaica. The locals very, very much appreciated it.”
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World Central Kitchen is a food relief nonprofit that was established in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti by Chef José Andrés. WCK has responded to natural disasters and humanitarian crises around the globe, including war zones in Ukraine and Gaza, Hurricane Lala that hit Hawaii on Aug. 16, recent earthquakes in Colombia and Indonesia, and the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
Jackson spoke with representatives at the WCK headquarters and they asked if he could tap into his local network.
“They can do the cooking, but they need the food trucks for logistics,” he said.
World Central Kitchen cooks will make the food in a central location and food trucks will distribute it around the city.
“They provide nutritious, appealing meals but in a mass cooking,” Jackson said. He said the food trucks could go to other needy areas, as well.
It’s a personal mission for Jackson.
“They assisted my home island. I’ll do whatever I can do to assist.”
Jack Velazquez, of Northwest Indiana American Culinary Federation, said he saw an Instagram post from Chef Jose Andres about World Central Kitchen coming to Gary. It’s unclear if Andres is coming, however.
Velazquez did a double take. “When I saw they’re coming here, I thought… we’re an actual disaster now.
“They want to come into the region and see where the needs are – people who are hungry have a big need in Gary,” said Velazquez, who teaches culinary arts at East Chicago’s Ivy Tech campus.
“We talked to some people who’ve been out of power for 11-12 days,” he said.
On Saturday, members of the NWI culinary group met with World Central Kitchen to plan the food preparation and delivery. The group is headed by president Gabriel Rosado, director and executive chef of Hospitality & Nutrition Services at Powers Health.
Rosado posted on social media on Sunday that World Central Kitchen is also looking for restaurants available to serve lunch and/or dinner as early as Monday.
He said World Central Kitchen is paying for all meals purchased to keep those dollars in the community.
The NWI culinary federation is also donating the proceeds from its Oct. 8 “Taste of the Farm” event at Fair Oaks Farms to local storm relief.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.