This Mobile Kitchen Travels to Ground Zero to Deliver Comfort Through Hot Meals

A typhoon that killed thousands and ravaged the Philippines propelled the birth of an artists-founded mobile kitchen that would eventually help feed refugees in disaster-stricken areas, anywhere in the country. Eight years after Yolanda (Haiyan)—one of the world’s most powerful typhoons—claimed lives and livelihoods in Tacloban, the volunteers of Art Relief Mobile Kitchen (ARMK) have been tirelessly cooking hot meals in makeshift sites to feed traumatized, often dazed, victims of calamities.

Precious Leaño, a cultural worker, theater actor, and a curator, and Alex Baluyut, a photojournalist for 35 years, spearhead ARMK. When The Beat Asia spoke with them via a Zoom video call in October, Precious was in La Union and Alex in Los Baños, Laguna, preparing food assistance in the wake of typhoon Maring.

“’Yung mga skills na nakuha ko as an actor, singer, cultural worker, curator—all of these go into disaster cooking,” Precious told The Beat Asia when asked about her life prior to founding ARMK.

(The skills that I have acquired as an actor, singer, cultural worker, curator—all these go into disaster cooking.)

“Believe it or not, that's how it works: we improvise, we express ourselves well in our cooking, and we organize people and communities, it's almost like a performance and you’re getting people to come and show up for a performance.”

Feeding Yolanda Victims

ARMK’s first makeshift kitchen was on the grounds of Villamor Airbase, where grief-stricken refugees from Tacloban—the main artery of Yolanda’s wrath— and the rest of Visayas were being flown in.

About 700 people aboard a C-130 aircraft were being transported to Villamor Airbase every hour in the aftermath of the supertyphoon, Precious said, recalling how the victims disembarked the planes without any footwear, shocked and traumatized after jostling to escape a catastrophe that took away their livelihood.

“Pag dating nila, nakatayo sila medyo dazed, so lalapit kami... ‘kain po kayo mainit na lugaw,’” Precious told The Beat Asia. “May mga tao na ang tagal bago mag respond... may heartbeat bago sila mag respond.”

(When they arrived, they were standing, slightly dazed. And then we’d approach them and offer hot arroz caldo. There were some people who took a while to respond...there was a heartbeat before they could respond.)

But after finding out that the victims had been feeding on nothing but porridge for days while waiting for a rescue plane in Visayas, ARMK eventually had to change strategies. From stirring hot arroz caldo in large boilers, volunteers turned to the closest thing possible to bringing a sense of “home” to the now-homeless victims: hot meals.

Alex then called for help via Facebook, asking friends of friends if they knew chefs and cooks willing to make hot meals for the Yolanda refugees cramped at the Philippine Air Force headquarters in Pasay City. The response was swift and overwhelming. From a handful of people operating an impromptu kitchen, ARMK had more than 2,000 volunteers during the kitchen’s 22-day stay at the Villamor Airbase, shifting rounds 24/7 to feed not just the refugees but other volunteers from across sectors—doctors, nurses, fellow artists, the youth, and government workers.

With the outpouring of support and resources, Precious and Alex faced another problem: what to do with tons of leftover food and kitchen equipment.

“Alex said we bring [them] to ground zero.”

And off they went.

And so, eight years after an improv kitchen was set up in the aftermath of Yolanda, Precious, Alex, and the rest of ARMK volunteers have been packing up their pans, spatulas, boilers, and other cookware to travel to danger zones and give grief-stricken disaster victims “a taste of home” through hot meals.

A Typical Day

Precious was preparing for a feeding program in La Union during our interview, days after typhoon Maring wreaked havoc across Luzon.

Describing how a typical day looks like at an ARMK relief site, Precious said vegetables usually arrive at 5 AM for the team to sort out. Volunteers start to arrive at 7 AM, have breakfast, and begin chopping the ingredients.

Cooking starts after lunch and then by 3 PM pr 4 PM, everything should be prepared for dispatch. Another one hour is allocated for the travel time between the ARMK makeshift kitchen and the distribution site. Food serving should begin by 5 PM.

Alex said being an aid worker for years has allowed them to master the complexities that go with running a mobile kitchen, acknowledging the risks and logistical constraints for every hot meal served. For example, they make it a rule to consume the food within three hours by the time of serving to avoid spoilage.

They have also managed to adapt to the pandemic by putting up additional layers of protection. They implement contact tracing and temperature check, as well as request that their volunteers be fully vaccinated.

“We created bubbles,” Precious told The Beat Asia. Volunteers are now separated by task: there’s one each for marketing, chopping, cooking, and distribution—and all of them have very little physical contact with each other.

“Kung dati meron kaming 101 protocols, ngayon naging 250 protocols na dahil sa pandemic. Kapag nagkamali ka, mase-setback ka rin,” Alex said jokingly.

(“Before we had 101 protocols, now we have 250 because of the pandemic. One mistake could lead to a setback.”)

The Magic of Hot Meals

While distributing canned goods and instant noodles requires simpler coordination and has far less risk, there is something special and comforting about serving hot meals in a time of distress.

“[M]alaking bagay na bibigyan mo ang isang tao ng mainit at masarap na pagkain kasi nakakalakas ng loob. Malaking bagay yun na lumalakas ‘yung loob mo dahil meron kang mainit na sinigang o kung ano ‘yung paborito doon sa lugar na ‘yun,” Precious said.

(“It’s a huge deal to give someone a hot, delicious meal because it strengthens their will. That they have extra strength after eating a hot sinigang or other popular local dish in that place is a huge help.”)

ARMK has also made it a rule to conduct their feeding programs for at least three days per relief site.

“Kasi sa tatlong araw, sure na may kakainin ka, pandugtong mo yun hanggang bukas. Matutulog ka, magigising ka ulit kasi may kinain ka... By the third day, kahit papano may konti ka nang lakas ng loob na [sabihing] ‘sige, game na, gagalaw na ako, kaya na namin ‘to.”

(“For three days, one is certain that they have something to eat to get them through the next day. They will sleep, and then wake up the next day because their stomachs are full. By the third day, they’d have some encouragement to say, ‘alright, bring it on, I’ll start moving, we’ll take it from here.’”)

That confidence and sliver of hope after finishing a warm sinigang, adobo or calderata paired with rice, is something no canned goods or instant noodles could ever topple, Precious said.

While it was all about improvisation for ARMK at the start, thanks to the skills they acquired as artists, their operations eventually became more calculated and planned. For example, ARMK makes it a point to consider the local dishes found in whatever place they happen to be in when deciding on the menu.

At the time of our interview, Precious and her team were preparing to cook a delicious chopsuey the following day.

Since La Union has easy access to upland vegetables from Sagada, as well as low-land greens from nearby farms, pakbet and chopsuey have become the standard meals there.

“Give it a little taste of home,” Precious told us. Thankfully, the Philippines’ fondness for large gatherings—fiestas, weddings, and birthday parties where the entire barangay is invited—has made this task a little easier for ARMK.

Whenever they are, local kusineros usually tapped for fiestas or other big feasts would volunteer to help out ARMK’s resident cooks. The feeding program, therefore, becomes a learning opportunity for both parties.

Religion also plays a significant role in disaster cooking.

“Sa mahabang karanasan namin sa pagtatrabaho sa NGO, alam na namin ‘yung bago ka kumilos magtanong ka muna sa komunidad, bagay ba sa cultural sensitivities nila [iyong ihahaing pagkain],” Alex shared.

(“In our years of experience with NGO work, we already know that before you act, you need to ask within the community first, whether the [dishes] are appropriate with their cultural sensitivities.”)

When assigned in Muslim areas, the team makes sure that only Halal foods are served, and this is made possible by tapping cooks from the Muslim community.

During ARMK’s feeding operations on the heels of the Marawi siege in 2017 days after the first shots were fired, Alex recalled financing a whole cow to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr, which coincided with their stint at the relief site.

Everybody wanted to celebrate and Alex, using money out of his own pocket, was going to make beef rendang along with other volunteers.

But that was not the story, Alex said.

“It’s heartwarming to see Christians and Muslims, chopping together, sharing stories, getting closer,” Alex said in mixed Filipino and English.

“Food gets people together.”

The Road Ahead

After eight years, dozens of typhoons, a volcanic eruption, a global pandemic, and more than 70 feeding missions, there’s no stopping ARMK from cooking and serving up hot meals to the hungry in the midst of a disaster, wherever in the Philippines they may be.

On Nov. 15, the organization marked its 8th anniversary. Its operations have solely relied on donations and the kind hearts of volunteers, many of whom have also been calamity victims themselves.

But one persistent challenge in doing relief aid is coming up with a holistic approach, Precious said. Unlike typhoons where floods are expected to dissipate in a few hours or days, a volcanic eruption is a long evacuation process that could take months. And this prolonged evacuation could lead to piles of garbage, which could then cause other diseases.

“Imagine a gym packed with 600 people and there are only two bathrooms,” Precious said. Instead of packing relief goods in plastic and styrofoam, Precious said donors should consider a sustainable alternative. At ARMK, volunteers usually look for containers like bowls, plates, pans, cauldrons, or anything that the evacuees can reuse as they restart their life.

“One of the most important things of being a disaster org is to get the community to work with you,” Precious said.

For interested donors and volunteers, contact Precious and Alex via ARMK’s Facebook page, mobile number at 0917 828 8690, or shoot them an email at [email protected].