José Andrés Will Give Government Workers Free Meals During The Government Shutdown

Small plates maven José Andrés is stepping up to the proverbial plate in a big way during the government shutdown. With gridlock looming in Washington D.C. because of a budget dispute about a potential border wall that American taxpayers weren’t supposed to pay for, many government workers are looking at an uncertain 2019.

Enter Andrés, a world-renown chef who has done a number of different humanitarian projects over the years, including in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. His World Central Kitchen has fed countless thousands in need, and with news of the government shutdown possibly slipping into the new year, Andrés has offered to feed out-of-work government employees until a budget is agreed upon and everyone can get back to work.

Andrés retweeted Donald Trump threatening a shutdown of the government for “a very long time” and said that he would provide free meals to workers shut down in the process.

Given that the shutdown is happening during the holidays and not every government employee in Washington was born a made man, it’s a very generous gesture by Andrés and one that is clearly meant to show up Trump in the process. As The Hill notes, this isn’t the first time Andrés has subtweeted Trump with offers to feed people. He offered the winner of Trump’s Fake News Awards free lunch and served food and drinks to students who participated in the gun control-focused March For Our Lives earlier in 2018.

(via The Hill)