Seeds of Hope: Here’s what is growing in Ukraine’s soil
Black soil is the most fertile soil found on earth—and 65% of Ukraine’s land is covered in it. Because of this, more than half of Ukrainian households grew their own home gardens before Russia’s full scale invasion began. In the months since, this rich soil has sat fallow as backyard farmers throughout the country have been unable to continue growing their own food. They face a myriad of challenges including constant threat of attack, damaged infrastructure, a disrupted financial system, and lack of access to seeds.
Just something so simple as ‘I want to buy seeds to plant in my farm’ became complicated.
José Andrés
WCK Founder and Chief Feeding Officer
In recent months, WCK has worked to remedy part of the problem. As of June, we have provided more than 165,000 seed kits to the people of Ukraine. The packets include a variety of vegetables and herbs, like cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, beets, dill, eggplant, onions, and peas.
Now, our teams throughout the country are met with excitement and pride. “Whenever we go to someone’s house, every single time, they show us their garden,” said Ned, WCK’s Relief Team lead for Ukraine. “There’s something about cucumbers—they’re pulling all these cucumbers off and they’re like, ‘Try it!’ So I’ve been eating a lot of cucumbers.” These cucumbers, and the other vegetables in the gardens, grew from WCK-provided seeds planted in the rich black soil.
In Svyatohirs’k, a city in Donetsk Oblast, our team visited Lida, who was eager to tell us about her commitment to farming. She had grown vegetables from WCK seed kits and was using them to make meals with her neighbor. They cook in an outdoor kitchen they built together after their apartment building was damaged by shelling.
Lida shows her garden to Yuliia, WCK’s media and translation lead in Ukraine.
In Tokarivka, a small village in Mykolaiv Oblast, our team met Elena. About 2,700 people lived in her village before the war—now, she is one of only 650 people who remain. She explained to our team the importance of seeds to Ukrainians: “Our people are hardworking and cannot live without a harvest. Every person who has harvested vegetables stores them so that they have something to eat in the winter. We don’t buy food from stores, we put everything we have grown in the cellar and eat this way all winter long.”
The garden
“We received the seeds in April and planted them right away…Peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, corn, watermelons, beets, carrots, peas, onions…Not everyone sowed, because there was very heavy shelling and people were afraid, but mostly they did.”
The situation
“Look, we are standing in the garden right now. And over there, look, a woman’s house was hit. Look, her house was bombed. The bomb hit the house and broke through the ceiling. I helped her cover the roof. These are the conditions we live in…I wish they would leave as soon as possible to leave us in peace. People want a peaceful sky above all else.”
The hope
“People are very happy with the food kits you deliver to us. Thank you for such wonderful seeds. We try to make sure that people are fed and cared for…we live for them, for our community.”
The summer harvest season is in full swing, and gardens planted with WCK-provided seeds are starting to burst with vegetables destined to be ingredients used to prepare nourishing meals. “Those seeds have exploded with colors and greens and forms, and people are harvesting radishes and turnips, carrots and potatoes,” José said. “There are many ways you can feed a community. You can feed the community with seeds, too.”
The idea to provide seed kits to Ukrainians came from a friendship José formed with two restaurateurs in Chernihiv—a city in northern Ukraine. From there, the simple idea sprouted into a regional program offering more than just a temporary fix. “It empowers individuals to sustain themselves by equipping them with the necessary tools to grow their own food,” said Yuliia, WCK’s media and translation lead in Ukraine. Ned adds: “There really is this sort of hope and optimism that comes from the growing of seeds.”
Stay tuned for more stories about our seed program. Support our work in Ukraine by donating here. Learn more about our #ChefsForUkraine response here. For real-time updates, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
