Humanitarian aid entrepreneur
Samuel Steven Bloch (he/him; pronunciation: Block or [blɑːk]) is an American humanitarian aid entrepreneur specializing in first response to natural disasters and conflict zones. Bloch's career began in Thailand in response to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Bloch went on to co-found "Communitere International" first serving the 2010 Haiti earthquake and then rapidly expanding operations to The Philippines in 2013, Nepal in 2015, and Greece in 2017. Bloch's resource center model, global reach, and unique ideologies were featured multiple times at TEDx, and other international conferences. In 2018, Bloch began as the director of emergency response with "World Central Kitchen" (WCK), focusing his efforts on hunger and food insecurity. Bloch has since then led the logistics of more than 70 responses, including large-scale efforts for Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas, the 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake in Turkey, the 2023 Hawaii wildfires in Lāhainā, the Russian invasion of Ukraine via Poland, and the Israel-Hamas war on the Gaza strip.
Ideologies.
While at , Bloch developed an approach rooted in service, empathy and dignity, with the goal of fostering collaboration within the local community to innovate and rebuild sustainable infrastructure. This was demonstrated by his grassroots leadership in related maker faire conventions, involvement with the early efforts of Burners without Borders, and support of local women-led businesses. Since joining World Central Kitchen, Bloch has remained centered in philosophies of dignity and community empowerment. As such, Bloch can be described as a steadfast humanist, egalitarian and feminist. Despite this, it is likely that Bloch is a Christian and a political moderate, mirroring his collaborators at "WCK".
Awards and appearances.
In 2017, Bloch won the Rotary Humanitarian STAR Award, in Disaster Relief and Recovery, by the Sierra Madre club. In 2022, Bloch's work was featured in documentary film "We Feed People" alongside chef José Andrés. In 2023, Bloch was interviewed by CNN's Christiane Amanpour while organizing relief in Morocco after the Al Haouz earthquake. In 2024, Bloch was interviewed to discuss addressing hunger on the Gaza strip during the Israel-Hamas war by "CNN" and "The" "New York Times".
Personal life.
Bloch was born in January 1979 in New Jersey and is one of nine children. Bloch's personal life was featured in the 2022 documentary film "We Feed People", where he discussed how grief from the death of his brother, who sacrificed his life to rescue Sam from an accident, fuels the conviction needed for this relentless work. Although he did not mention her, his mother has played the greatest role in Bloch's success[""]. In the film, Bloch also shared his troubles with "holding down a relationship" because of the unpredictability associated with disaster relief, and remains unmarried. In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloch cut off his beloved dreadlocks for a fundraiser, while also opting for a more serious look. When not actively working on a response, Bloch is thought to be based out of the San Francisco Bay Area.