| Samuel S. Bloch | |
| Image Upright: | 1.35 |
| Birth Date: | January 1979 |
| Birth Place: | New Jersey, United States of America |
| Nationality: | American |
| Known For: | Humanitarian aid; first response to natural disasters and conflict zones |
Samuel Steven Bloch (he/him; pronunciation: Block or [blɑːk]) is an American humanitarian aid worker specializing in first response to natural disasters and conflict zones, working in over 50 countries. Bloch's career began in Thailand in response to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Bloch then went on to found Communitere International expanding its operations from serving the 2010 Haiti earthquake to events in Greece, The Philippines, and Nepal.[1] In 2018, Bloch began in his current role as the director of emergency response with World Central Kitchen (WCK),[2] focusing his efforts on hunger and food insecurity. Bloch has since then led the logistics of nearly 100 responses, including large-scale efforts in the Israel-Hamas war on the Gaza strip,[3] the Russian invasion of Ukraine via Poland,[4] 2023 Hawaii wildfires in Lāhainā,[5] 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake in Turkey,[6] Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas,[7] and Cyclone Idai in Mozambique.[8]
While at Communitere, Bloch developed an approach grounded in service, empathy and dignity, emphasizing the empowerment of the local community to rebuild and innovate sustainable infrastructure.[9] [10] [11] This was demonstrated by his grassroots leadership in related maker faire conventions, hackathons, and support of local women's groups.[12] Since joining World Central Kitchen, Bloch has remained centered in philosophies of dignity and community empowerment.[13] As such, Bloch can be described as a humanitarian, an egalitarian and a feminist. Despite this, it is likely that Bloch is a Christian[14] and a political moderate mirroring his collaborators at WCK.[15]
In 2017, Bloch was named winner of the Rotary Humanitarian STAR Award,[16] 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.[17] In 2024, Bloch was interviewed to discuss addressing hunger on the Gaza strip during the Israel-Hamas war by CNN[3] and The New York Times.[18]
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[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]]. In the film, Bloch also shared his troubles with "holding down a relationship" because of the unpredictability associated with disaster relief, and remains unmarried.[19] In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloch cut off his beloved dreadlocks for a fundraiser,[20] 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.