Culture

José Andrés Dismisses Rumors That He Is Feuding With FEMA

Lily Rose|

Chef José Andrés, who has fed and delivered over 2.2 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico, is currently dismissing claims that he is feuding with the Federal Emergency Management Agency via his Twitter account.

Although FEMA gave Andrés' nonprofit World Central Kitchen a $1.5 million contract for 140,000 meals and a subsequent $10 million contract for two weeks of services, the charity had superseded those expectations and requested more funding and an extended contract. The relief organization would not grant the chef's appeal for a 60-day contract through December for $30 million.

A FEMA official told Buzzfeed News that Andrés, who has spent over a month on the island tirelessly cooking and feeding the people who live there and has even refocused his efforts to feed people in hard-to-reach mountainous areas, is "a businessman looking for stuff to promote his business."

When Buzzfeed News questioned Andrés about the statement made by FEMA, he said, "For them to say I was a businessman trying to make a buck, whoever said that should be very ashamed of themselves." This testy back and forth has sparked major rumors that the man and the agency are feuding, especially in light of how vocal Andrés has been on social media about his disappointment with FEMA.

Andrés took to Twitter to bury the hatchet after Univision Noticias tweeted their report on the confrontation.

"Dear @UniNoticias there is no fight. We respect each other @fema Alejandro de la Campa @femaregion2 we fed the people of Puerto Rico! That's what matters," he wrote, sharing a photo.

Andrés' eagerness to push past disputes and focus on what matters (like feeding the hungry and displaced) is just one of the many reasons why José Andrés is the hero we need right now.

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