ROCKVILLE, MD – With the first day of school fast approaching and still no clear, effective plan for students to eat lunch safely outdoors due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have turned to famed chef and humanitarian José Andrés to help solve the looming disaster.
“This crisis requires someone with serious experience,” said Brenda Wolff, President of the Montgomery County Board of Education. “Between helping earthquake survivors, responding to hurricanes, and supporting restaurant workers during a pandemic, we knew that only someone of Chef Andrés’ caliber could solve our crisis of figuring out how to let kids eat food outdoors.”
Following weeks of confusion and a backlash of angry social media posts from unhappy parents, MCPS was seconds away from purchasing all of the unused tents from the infamous Fyre Festival last week in a desperate attempt to execute some kind of consistent outdoor lunch plan. Fortunately, Andrés, a Bethesda resident, had just finished making 100,000 meals in New Orleans in preparation for Hurricane Ida and was eager to step in and help avert another potential disaster.
“When I heard what was happening in my home of Montgomery County, I knew I needed to help,” said Andrés while loading portable tables and chairs onto delivery trucks. “Only someone with decades of food service experience, a world famous nonprofit, and a Nobel Peace Prize nomination could know that planning to make kids eat lunch while sitting on a 120 degree asphalt parking lot is a ridiculous idea.”
After creating an effective outdoor lunch plan for MCPS, Andrés says he is looking forward to using his culinary experience to help even more people in need, including feeding Afghan refugees, creating healthy meals for people living in food deserts, and educating Delegate David Moon about Maryland’s unconditional love for Old Bay Seasoning.
