World Central Kitchen (WCK) has developed a mind-bending ability to respond to seemingly every major disaster across the globe to serve meals to those in need. The crisis in Ukraine is no different. Chef José Andrés and WCK were one of the first relief agencies on the ground there, distributing food at the country’s border with Poland.
According to the WCK Twitter account, the organization has been serving hot meals to refugees arriving at the train station in Lviv and in Przemysl, Poland; it partnered with restaurants in Kyiv to take food to hospitals and shelters; and Andrés himself drove from Poland to a bakery in Lviv to drop off 400-plus pounds of flour. Andrés promised that the organization would mobilize similar efforts in “any country bordering Ukraine,” then took to Twitter to offer a video report in the frigid conditions from the ground.
“We are in different places across the border in Poland. We are already feeding in Romania. We’re going to be in different entry points,” he stated. “So this is phase one, taking care of the borders,” Andrés continued in his video from Poland. “I think we’ve done a good job in less than three days. We are exponentially increasing the output of meals. I think only around here we’ve done over 8,000 meals – only here – and we have other feeding points. But if we need to reach a quarter million, we will.”
Andres also said WCK is working to keep people fed within Ukraine, too, offering financial resources to cooks to help their countrymen. “We have restaurants inside Odessa. We are contacting others, and we’re telling them, ‘Guys, there are many ways to fight. Some people fight, you are making sure people are fed,'” the chef said.
WCK’s featured post states, “Since Russia began their attack on Ukraine last week, WCK has activated restaurants in Ukraine and 4 surrounding countries, serving hundreds of thousands of meals to families—and we’ll be here as long as we’re needed. Thank you to all making this possible. 🙏 #ChefsForUkraine”
Anyone looking to support WCK’s efforts can donate to the organization at wck.org.
But you may also be able to benefit Ukraine simply by eating locally. Across the country, plenty of restaurants and cafes have been showing their support for the Eastern European country by pledging to donate proceeds to different pro-Ukraine charities. While some restaurants have found ways to support Ukraine — like the Ukranian-owned San Antonio bakery that raised $77,000 for the country’s defense fund last weekend — food industry vets are also working together to raise money and awareness for the Ukrainians who will suffer as this invasion intensifies. Ukrainian chef and food writer Olia Hercules, Russian cookbook author Dr. Alissa Timoskina, and Polish “storyteller cook” Zuza Zak have launched Cook for Ukraine, a fundraiser to raise money for the children’s charity UNICEF.
“I don’t want people to get stuck in the headlines and the bombs and to lose sight of the human beings behind this story,” Hercules said in an interview with inews.co.uk. “Ukraine is such a fascinating country that not everybody knew about before this, full of gorgeous green meadows and rich traditions of cooking and culture. But it is absolutely urgent that we act now.”
There are multiple ways to participate in and donate to Cook for Ukraine. The first suggestion the organizers make is by hosting a #CookForUkraine supper club or bake sale, and donating the proceeds through the Cook For Ukraine Just Giving page. The second (and simplest) way is to share your own pictures, recipes, and stories on social media using the #CookForUkraine hashtag (and if you don’t have a go-to Ukrainian recipe, there are over a dozen on the Just Giving page). And finally, you can just make a donation online through Just Giving. To date, the organizers have raised over $88,580 for UNICEF UK’s Ukraine Appeal to support children and families affected by the war.
“Like millions of Russians, I too have Ukrainian roots, and grew up on a beautiful diet of Ukrainian and Russian dishes,” Timoshkina, the author of Salt and Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen, said. “My heart goes out to all the people of Ukraine! I thank you all for caring, and for putting the needs of children and their families first. Let’s cook for peace, for freedom, for truth, for common sense, for rational thought and for love.”
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Photo Credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com