Hunger Action Now

Precious Lea & ntilde;o and Alex Baluyut started cooking for victims of disaster in the Philippines in 2013 after the devastation of supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda. The initiative became the Art Relief Mobile Kitchen (ARMK), an artist-led disaster response and hunger action which has set up kitchens across the country. The kitchens are run by volunteers and supported mostly by donations of ordinary people. When a disaster strikes, ARMK organize a mission. They call for volunteers and donations, pack up their mobile kitchen or mobilize the closest one in the vicinity, and go to the site to feed people displaced by the calamity, whether a typhoon, flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption, or one caused by armed conflict between rebels and government forces. After 10 years, they remain committed. The article features this exemplar of hunger action and talks about the challenges faced by ARMK, posing questions about how and why they do what they do.