The horror of 1 April will stay with us. But to desperate people, we know a plate of food is as powerful as any weapon

• José Andrés is founder of World Central Kitchen

Feeding the body and feeding the mind are not as separate as you might think. At least, not in a war zone or after a natural disaster. When you are the boots on the ground in the middle of a catastrophe, you learn far more than you can from a distance. There is no substitute for being present when the voiceless need the outside world to show up.

People often ask me how an organisation like World Central Kitchen (WCK) can produce and deliver so many millions of meals so quickly in places such as Ukraine or Gaza. The answer is not rocket science, at least not to those of us who feed people for a living: we tap into the local food networks that already exist, building on what is already there. Those networks tell you stories. They feed you intelligence as you feed other people. More often than not, that intelligence is more insightful and up to date than the information government officials rely on.

José Andrés is the founder of the food aid charity World Central Kitchen, and a Michelin-starred chef. This article is the foreword to the The Bedside Guardian 2024, edited by Clare Longrigg (Guardian Books, £16.99). To support The Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.