More than a Meal: How Community Kitchens Bring Comfort and Community to Disaster Response

Art Relief Mobile Kitchen (ARMK) volunteers prepare freshly cooked meals for disaster-affected communities in Mahaplag, Southern Leyte, during a 2022 relief operation. Through its Jollibee Group FoodAID program, Jollibee Group Foundation supports partners such as ARMK with prepositioned ready-to-cook meals and connections that help strengthen collaboration during emergencies. (Photo courtesy of Art Relief Mobile Kitchen)

Key Highlights:

· Art Relief Mobile Kitchen was founded in 2013 after Typhoon Yolanda, when artists and volunteers cooked for displaced survivors arriving at Villamor Air Base.

· ARMK has developed a network of 12 local mobile kitchens across the Philippines, from Batanes to Zamboanga.

· Each mobile kitchen can prepare between 500 and 3,000 meals in one cooking operation.

· Jollibee Group FoodAID program helps partners strengthen their readiness through prepositioned ready-to-cook meals, and connections with other organizations and stakeholders.

· ARMK prioritizes freshly prepared food, local sourcing, and community participation to deliver both nourishment and comfort during difficult times.

MANILA, Philippines. 24 August 2026 – When Typhoon Yolanda devastated communities in 2013, artists and partners Precious Leaño and Alex Baluyut found themselves asking a simple question that would change their lives: “Can we cook for them?”

The “them” were survivors arriving at Villamor Air Base after being evacuated from Tacloban—many of whom had gone days without a proper meal. Drawing on their cooking equipment, network of fellow artists, and determination to help, Leaño and Baluyut mobilized volunteers and began preparing hot meals almost around the clock.

That first response became Art Relief Mobile Kitchen (ARMK), a volunteer-led nonprofit organization that now deploys community kitchens during typhoons,

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, armed conflict, fires, and public-health emergencies.

What began as an emergency response has since grown into a nationwide network of 12 community-based mobile kitchens, from Batanes to Zamboanga. Each kitchen can prepare between 500 and 3,000 freshly cooked meals in a single cooking operation, allowing communities to respond quickly when disasters strike.

Today, ARMK is part of a growing network of local organizations connected through Jollibee Group Foundation’s FoodAID program, which helps strengthen disaster preparedness by supporting community partners with training, prepositioned meals, and opportunities to build relationships that enable faster, more coordinated response during emergencies.

From Creative Spirit to Community Care

ARMK’s roots remain deeply tied to the arts. Leaño, a cultural worker and communications practitioner, and Baluyut, an award-winning photojournalist, were joined early on by fellow artists who volunteered, raised funds, and helped connect the group to communities in need.

While Baluyut has since passed on, the compassion and spirit of service he brought to ARMK continue to live on through the organization’s work and through Leaño, who carries forward the mission they began together.

“We’re artists. We provide relief. We’re mobile, and this is our kitchen,” Leaño recalled of how ARMK got its name.

For ARMK, serving hot meals is intentional. Food is prepared close to affected communities and distributed promptly to help preserve quality and provide comfort during disruptions. Families often bring their own containers while volunteers prepare enough rice and viand to share among households.

Whenever possible, ARMK also sources ingredients locally, supporting farmers, vendors, and residents whose livelihoods may have been affected by the same crisis.

“Obviously, [the role of community kitchens is] to comfort people when it’s needed,” Leaño said. “Whether it’s a disaster or a fiesta, it is there.”

Building Stronger Local Response Networks

Beyond supporting individual organizations, Jollibee Group FoodAID program invests in building strong local disaster-response networks.

Partners receive training, prepositioned ready-to-cook meals, and opportunities to connect with one another before disasters occur, strengthening trust, coordination, and preparedness at the community level.

Over time, these relationships have grown beyond Foundation-led activities. Organizations with different strengths have increasingly worked together directly, allowing communities to benefit from faster, more coordinated responses during emergencies.

Among the organizations in the JGF network are ARMK and Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI), a long-time local partner of JGF’s Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP). Through its network of local farmer organizations, ASHI helps connect smallholder farmers to opportunities that improve livelihoods while strengthening community resilience.

These relationships have also translated into tangible collaboration during emergencies. During recent community feeding efforts in Los Baños, Laguna, local FEP partners from AGAP through ASHI donated fresh vegetables to ARMK, while ASHI staff volunteered alongside the community kitchen to prepare meals for tricycle drivers and their families affected by the crisis. By connecting partners with complementary strengths, from farmers supplying fresh produce to community kitchens preparing hot meals, Jollibee Group Foundation helps enable faster, more coordinated, and more locally driven disaster response.

These collaborations also extend to local governments, volunteers, community organizations, artists, and private-sector partners, creating a broader ecosystem of support that communities can rely on before, during, and after disasters.

“Disaster response becomes stronger when local organizations know and trust one another before a crisis happens,” said Gisela Tiongson, President of Jollibee Group Foundation. “Our role is not only to help provide food during emergencies, but also to help strengthen partnerships that allow communities to respond more quickly, complement each other’s strengths, and care for more families when disasters strike.”

One Community at a Time

This collective approach has enabled Jollibee Group FoodAID to serve more than 18 million meals since 2020, with the support of over 100 partners. In 2025 alone, the program provided 3.4 million meals to communities in need.

For Leaño, the impact of these partnerships is deeply personal. She recalled one particularly difficult evening during the COVID-19 pandemic when ARMK had run out of ingredients for the next day’s meals. That same night, Jollibee Group Foundation arranged support for approximately 700 kilograms of chicken, allowing the organization to continue serving communities without interruption.

“Promise, feeling ko galing sa langit,” Leano said.

Experiences like these have reinforced ARMK’s belief that lasting impact comes from working alongside communities rather than simply serving them. During relief operations, volunteers work alongside residents and organizations, helping communities strengthen their own response capabilities and, where possible, establish community kitchens that can continue serving long after volunteers have left.

The result is a model built on local knowledge, shared responsibility, and community resilience. As Leaño reflected, ARMK’s journey often feels “like we’re living inside a miracle all the time.”

As climate-related disasters become more frequent and complex, partnerships like these demonstrate that effective disaster response goes beyond delivering relief. By strengthening local networks and building trust among organizations before emergencies happen, communities become better prepared to care for one another when they need it most.