#ChefsForUkraine: Fresh food & hot meals arrive to Ukrainian cities recently liberated
Within days of the initial Russian invasion, WCK began serving meals to families traveling long distances and waiting for hours at various border crossings in Poland and then in Romania, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia. At the same time, urgent food needs quickly grew within Ukraine. For residents who remain either in their homes or the millions of people who have travelled west and are internally displaced, we have mobilized local restaurants, expanding our response to provide hot meals at train stations, shelters, hospitals, and directly to people in their homes. To helpfill gaps in the country’s strained food supply chain, we then began delivering meat, fresh produce, and dry goods like rice and bulgur to WCK partners cooking and vulnerable communities preparing for rising food shortages. This last week, WCK has grown our response to provide hot meals and food product to cities liberated in the north that are beginning to recover from the occupation.
With the Russian withdrawal from the Kyiv region, WCK teams worked immediately to prepare deliveries to Bucha and Irpin’, two areas that had not received any support for over a month. Within hours, José and the team arrived in Irpin’ where we met the mayor who then took us to the city of Bucha. The areas have been devastated by the violence, and it was a somber day as we distributed hundreds of meals to seniors, women, and children—many in tears after enduring unthinkable horrors for a month. Families have been without food, water, and electricity.
The next day, WCK teams returned with two trucks filled with hundreds of hot meals and over thousands of pounds of food for people to cook with at home.
After initially bringing much-needed food relief to communities in Bucha and Irpin’, we continued to reach more areas just retaken by Ukrainian forces. Each day, WCK is returning to Bucha, Irpin’ and other liberated cities north of Kyiv.
Above, WCK’s Tim checks in from Borodyanka—also near Bucha—where we provided 4,000 hot meals and grocery kits for affected families.
In Hostomel, we met Vita and Victoria, two incredible women who run a school that turned into a shelter. This shelter housed 100 people when Russian forces occupied the area, and now about 20 people who either lost their homes or who need additional support are still sleeping here.
Russians soldiers lived in the school through their occupation, sleeping on the second floor while Ukrainian families stayed in the basement. Through it all, Vita and Victoria continued cooking, even while holding a deep fear of the uncertainty to come each morning. WCK is now bringing hot meals and ingredients for them to cook with.
Further north of Kyiv, WCK teams began supporting a local bakery in the city of Chernihiv—when we started working with them at the beginning of the month, the city was still under Russian occupation. The team was making a few hundred loaves of bread each day for local residents, and now with our support, they’ve increased production by 10 times, scaling up to bake more than 4,000 loaves of bread each day.
With the withdrawal of troops from the Kyiv region, Chernihiv has now been liberated. Still, families here are afraid—many have continued living below ground for fear of missiles and most are too nervous to answer their doors to a stranger. Working with neighbors and trusted loved ones, WCK brought meals served with friendly smiles to each door or window in need.
Farther east in and around Kharkiv, WCK restaurants continue to cook meals and serve families in need in the area. In addition to providing freshly prepared meals to shelters and hospitals, WCK is bringing prepared food and ingredient kits to families living right on the front lines of the attacks, east of the city. Residents—mostly seniors—have nowhere to go and have no access to food.
WCK teams, with our local partners, have been able to get more support into eastern communities in Ukraine like Derhachi and Sumy.
Trostyanets, a city in the Sumy Oblast 12 miles from the Russian border, was occupied for 30 days and is now unrecognizable. The mayor told our team that there is no food and it’s unclear how many of the 20,000 residents remain. WCK CEO Nate Mook and the Relief Team began by supporting railway workers cleaning up and we are now delivering food to long lines of people waiting for aid.
In an effort to get critical aid into Kramatorsk, a city in the northern portion of the Donetsk region, our team utilized the country’s railway system to send food. When WCK’s Nate and the team arrived in the city late last week, we saw gas stations and ATMs packed with long lines as the city prepared for possible attacks—nearly 8,000 people were fleeing the city by train each day. To support these families as they left, WCK planned to set up a distribution center at the busy train station. Friday morning, as our team was driving to pick up ingredients, the train station was attacked, tragically killing more than 50 people, including children.
WCK’s incredibly brave local partners are still continuing to get critical food aid into the city and in the hands of residents most in need—mostly seniors.
WCK is so grateful for our amazing restaurant partners and team of volunteers who are working tirelessly and courageously to get food to people in need throughout Ukraine and surrounding countries—together, we have provided over eight million meals.
We are honored to work alongside a brave and dedicated community. WCK will continue to support Ukraine as long as we are needed.
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