WCK vegetable kits offer a sense of home in Ukraine
World Central Kitchen teams in Ukraine are constantly adapting our response to ensure people impacted by the Russian invasion get the support they need. Through constant innovation, we have provided more than 250 million meals since the war began. This year, as families live through their second full winter under occupation, we are again providing vegetable kits so people with the ability to cook for themselves have fresh ingredients to prepare nourishing meals at home. We have provided more than 112,000 of these kits—each one containing more than 15 pounds of produce—since this program began in 2022.
The first vegetable kit deliveries this winter season were made to frontline communities in Kherson Oblast like Osokorivka, Myrolyubivka, and Trudolyubivka—all located just a few miles from where Russian troops are stationed. It’s not just the constant threat of attack that impacts access to food in this region, many towns are also still reeling from the Kakhovka dam explosion eight months ago.
WCK’s local coordinator Kateryna is helping guide efforts to distribute the kits loaded with cabbage, potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, and garlic—the perfect ingredients for authentic Ukrainian borsch. “Our vegetable kit program is extremely important for the Kherson region,” she said. “People really need vegetables, they love them. Kherson Oblast has always been famous for its large harvests and supplying the best vegetables throughout the country, but now the situation has changed dramatically.”
Larysa is a resident of Osokorivka, which was under occupation for more than two months at the beginning of the war. “Looking back, I don’t understand how we managed to survive. The shelling was heavy and many people were forced to leave the village,” she said. Larysa’s husband and children evacuated the village during the occupation. She stayed behind to care for her sister, who was unable to leave due to a disability. Out of the village’s 2,000 residents, only a few dozen remained during the months of occupation.
Looking back, I don’t understand how we managed to survive. The shelling was heavy and many people were forced to leave the village
Larysa
Resident of Osokorivka
The vegetable kits offer people like Larysa a much needed stable source of food. They also offer joy and provide a sense of home. “Of course, it’s borsch!” she said when asked about her favorite dish to cook with the WCK-provided produce. “The vegetables are of excellent quality—fresh and whole, making the borsch delicious! I also make a cabbage salad with cucumber for the kids.”
Lyubov lives in Trudolyubivka, where volunteers are distributing our vegetable kits. “Thank you so much for your support and help,” she told the team during a recent delivery. “Thanks to you, we can finally return to our homes.” Lyubov also endured the horrors of occupation. “When the war started, my granddaughter came to stay with me from Mykolaiv. We never could have imagined that the occupiers would come to our village. We were without water and bread for two months,” she said.
For Ukrainians like Larysa and Lyubov, it is incredibly dangerous to grow vegetables in their gardens. Vast swaths of land surrounding their communities are littered with mines. “People are too afraid to plant anything,” she said. “That’s why the vegetable kits you brought are so valuable to us.”
Olha, WCK’s Ukraine Country Lead has joined our teams for many vegetable kit deliveries and has helped develop effective distribution systems: It only takes a few days for produce to make it from suppliers to communities on the frontlines. “This is a testament to the hard work of our local teams and partner organizations. These carefully crafted delivery schedules are the key to the success of our mission,” she said. “Vegetables may seem simple and commonplace, but for these people, they are a precious gift. Their gratitude knows no bounds.”
Vegetables may seem simple and commonplace, but for these people, they are a precious gift.
Olha
WCK’s Ukraine Country Lead
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