The Malibu Brewing Company and Malibu Farms are serving their community by utilizing their available resources.
If the fire that forced over 30,000 people from their homes wasn’t enough, next came the water shut-offs and the power outages affecting over 200,000 people, according to the World Central Kitchen (WCK).
Malibu Brewing Company is one local restaurant making a difference in the community by serving local first responders through its recent partnership with WCK.
WCK works locally and internationally in providing food to people finding themselves amid humanitarian emergencies, man-made crises and natural disasters, according to their website. Outside of their work in Ukraine and Gaza, they provide meals to families affected by Hurricane Helene and the SoCal wildfires’ first responders.
To date, WCK has provided 380,000 meals to those affected by the Palisades, Hurst and Eaton fires by working with food trucks and local restaurants like the Malibu Brewing Company, according to WCK’s website.
Through the Malibu Brewing Company’s partnership with WCK, anyone impacted by the recent wildfires can come in and receive a free meal, Adam Alexander, a server at the restaurant, said. WCK covers the cost and the Malibu Brewing Kitchen staff prepares it.
“Every day there’s a new menu, and it gives us a lot of, freedom to kind of get food out quick, and to test new menu items as well, and to give back to the community,” Alexander said.
In the last couple of weeks, the Malibu Brewing Company has cooked and served 14,000 meals, Alexander said. The need is immediate and right on the restaurant’s doorstep.
“There’s so many firefighters that are all put up in tents, and so many fire trucks and first responders and everybody are all along the PCH,” Alexander said.
One morning, the Malibu Brewing Company pushed out 800 breakfast burritos to the firefighters camping along the PCH, Alexander said.
It doesn’t stop there, the Malibu Brewing Company continues serving hundreds of first responders every single day, Alexander said.
“Yesterday, we just had a ceremony for people getting their fireman jackets, and we allowed them to rent out our entire space,” Alexander said.
On Jan. 25, around 30 firefighters across the state celebrated getting their coats of armor in a warm environment with free drinks and free food, Alexander said.
“They had a little microphone, and they were all doing some speeches, some inspirational quotes and things,” Alexander said. “And then everybody got their jackets, and it was all just really good vibes.”
Their service to the community isn’t short of obstacles.
“We have lost power a couple times, so we’ve had to close down,” Alexander said.
With power outages plaguing so many locals, Alexander said the Malibu Brewing Company is counted among those affected. There have been days when they have had to shut down their restaurant unexpectedly because of a power outage. The company’s water has also been shut off at times.
However, even when the power stopped, their work did not, Alexander said.
“The kitchen staff was still working, even though the power went off, so we were still pumping out meals for first responders, even without electricity,” Alexander said.
Malibu Farms located on the Malibu Pier is another business impacted by the recent wildfires. Helene Henderson, the founder and chef, said electricity and natural gas were shut off in many parts of the city.
The closure of PCH has also made it extremely difficult for employees and customers to access Malibu businesses, Henderson wrote in an email to the Graphic on Jan. 27.
Gas services have been restored to many local businesses, but Malibu Farms is still working on getting theirs up and running again due to the older infrastructure of the pier, Henderson wrote in an email to the Graphic.
Henderson said inspections are needed and are taking longer than planned, but they are aiming to be operational again by Feb. 6.
Malibu Farms is doing what it can to support first responders with donations of uncooked foods, such as raw chicken, fish, steak, vegetables and dairy produce, Henderson wrote in an email to the Graphic.
“Our much beloved Malibu West local volunteer fire brigade came to pick up a truck full of items as well as the Hollywood Food Coalition,” Henderson wrote in an email to the Graphic. “Hopefully they were able to cook the items and put them to good use.”
There are a few ways for locals to share their support for the Malibu Brewing Company and WCK to feed the first responders in Malibu including dining at their restaurant off of PCH and Trancas Canyon Road. Another way is to donate through WCK’s website.
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Contact Rachel Flynn via email: rachel.flynn@pepperdine.edu
