FOOD FOR THE UKRAINE- We have two hands, one to help yourself and the second to help others

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With bombs still falling day and night, millions of Ukrainians continue to flee the country or relocate west to the city of Lviv. In response, WCK is rapidly expanding our #ChefsForUkraine response to distribute food—including hot, fresh meals—in five countries. We’ve now opened a kitchen and food supply depot in Poland, right on the border with Ukraine, and have multiple warehouses active in Lviv where trucks are filled with food to head east reaching cities like Odessa and Mykolayiv. We are also supporting more restaurants to serve meals in Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and Kyiv, which remain under active attack.

SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS IN UKRAINE
The new WCK Relief Kitchen is located in Przemyśl—a Polish city just a few miles from the border with Ukraine that is receiving tens of thousands of refugees every day. From this kitchen, our team has the capacity to scale up and cook 100,000 meals per day utilizing 12 massive WCK paella pans and 12 large ovens.

To reach Mykolayiv, Ukraine—a city targeted by Russian forces—WCK partner Team Humanity leaves Moldova before dawn with fruit, baby food, and more for families in the city. After distributing items, the team then focuses on getting women and children out of the city and to safety in Moldova.
The majority of refugees from Ukraine are currently arriving in Poland, so the WCK team has established 24/7 meal distributions at all eight border crossings. We are serving hot soups and other dishes through the cold nights—and to provide some extra comfort during this incredibly difficult time, we are also serving hot cocoa, tea, and coffee.

Within Ukraine, we are now working with dozens of chefs and restaurant partners across 12 cities to provide meals to those who remain at home or are escaping to other locations within the country. More families are now beginning to stay in Lviv rather than leave Ukraine. The UN estimates over 2 million people are already internally displaced, so the WCK team, alongside our partners in Lviv and other cities across Ukraine, are cooking more meals each day. We are delivering the freshly prepared meals to 50 locations in Lviv alone, and that number goes up daily.

From our WCK warehouses in Lviv, we are also helping fill gaps in the country’s strained food supply chain by sending meat, fresh produce, and dry goods like rice and bulgur to our restaurant partners. Multiple trucks have already gone to Odessa, Mykolayiv, Zolochiv and soon to Kyiv. We are working with the mayor’s office in Odessa to deliver bulk food to the city’s humanitarian warehouse.

Children have dinner at a shelter that was once an orphanage in Moldova. The building is now hosting 100 women and children and has relied on donations from the small surrounding community to support families. WCK is now working with the shelter to provide hot, nourishing meals.

The WCK team remains in awe of our partners across the region working day and night to feed people in need—we’ve seen incredible courage from Ukrainians showing up every day to cook in cities under siege. It’s our honor to be able to support these teams in ensuring that everyone is met with a warm, nourishing meal, and we are so thankful to all of our supporters who have come together to show the power that a plate of food can hold in even the darkest times. Thank you.

For the latest on our efforts, please follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Help us serve more meals by supporting our work here.

I am attaching the link for donation to this fabulous organization: https://donate.wck.org

I have never wandered off to the area of politics in my blog. But, as citizens of the world, I know that you, the good people who read my posts, will understand why I wanted to bring this organization to your attention.

Sending prayers for peace,

Bernadette

20 responses to “FOOD FOR THE UKRAINE- We have two hands, one to help yourself and the second to help others”

  1. kinge – Calm and gentleness. These qualities define me, built-in my character and for the past few years, I have been learning to be positive. There is power in kindness and humility, people mistake these for weakness. The qualities help me see life in all its beauty, enable me to rise above situations, be present. I love good food, artful music, sketching, journaling, cycling, calisthenics, and nature; connecting with nature enjoying sunsets, trees, and birds. I am a student of the mind. I read a lot on mind, body, and spirit. I write about the same to the extent of my understanding with a keen interest in personal development. My name is Kinge Kevin. I’m currently a farmer, who writes. Welcome to my blog
    kinge says:

    This is such a good initiative, delivering food to the Ukrainians. It’s a lot of effort that’s worth it. Our prayers are with them.

      • kinge – Calm and gentleness. These qualities define me, built-in my character and for the past few years, I have been learning to be positive. There is power in kindness and humility, people mistake these for weakness. The qualities help me see life in all its beauty, enable me to rise above situations, be present. I love good food, artful music, sketching, journaling, cycling, calisthenics, and nature; connecting with nature enjoying sunsets, trees, and birds. I am a student of the mind. I read a lot on mind, body, and spirit. I write about the same to the extent of my understanding with a keen interest in personal development. My name is Kinge Kevin. I’m currently a farmer, who writes. Welcome to my blog
        kinge says:

        Welcome

  2. I don’t think of this being political at all, Bernadette! World Central Kitchen is a fantastic humanitarian organization, and I have long admired Chef Jose Andres for his work around the world. Thank you for sharing this article! I have donated this morning and hope that others will give what they can as well. I can’t stand for people to be hungry under any circumstance, and what the people of Ukraine are experiencing now is the worst it gets.

    Don’t you wish we could throw on our aprons and start stirring one of those giant pots?!

  3. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. After many years of daily serving up of our local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class as the spirit moves me. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
    Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

    Thank you for the link Bernadette. It is sacred work indeed.

      • Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. After many years of daily serving up of our local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class as the spirit moves me. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
        Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

        I just made a contribution. I would love to cook for them all!

      • I know Dorothy, that is exactly what Terrie said. She wants to put on her apron and stir that big pot. Like I said, I have met the best people, like you my friend.

  4. Bern, thanks so much for this post about the World Central Kitchen. These are horrific times for the Ukrainian people and it’s a comfort to know that organizations like this are able to make a difference, no matter how big or small. I just made my donation and shared the World Central Kitchen donation page link on Facebook.

    • Thanks so much Elizabeth. I am sure you feel as frustrated as I do about not being able to help these poor people. I just want to put on an apron and feed everyone.

  5. sue clancy – I create visual stories: fine art and artist books – in the genres of "animals in art" and "books in art". I tell my stories on walls, in books and even on "nontraditional" surfaces like coffee mugs. My fine art is represented by Caplan Art Designs www.caplanartdesigns.com and by Joseph Gierek Fine Art www.gierek.com – Thank you for letting me tell you a story!
    sue clancy says:

    Beautiful post. My heart, prayers and kind thoughts are with the Ukrainian people and all of the cooks feeding them too. Is it okay if I share your post on my blog next week?

      • sue clancy – I create visual stories: fine art and artist books – in the genres of "animals in art" and "books in art". I tell my stories on walls, in books and even on "nontraditional" surfaces like coffee mugs. My fine art is represented by Caplan Art Designs www.caplanartdesigns.com and by Joseph Gierek Fine Art www.gierek.com – Thank you for letting me tell you a story!
        sue clancy says:

        Thank you!! I will share!! I’ve donated several different ways now and your post was particularly practical! Thank you again!

      • sue clancy – I create visual stories: fine art and artist books – in the genres of "animals in art" and "books in art". I tell my stories on walls, in books and even on "nontraditional" surfaces like coffee mugs. My fine art is represented by Caplan Art Designs www.caplanartdesigns.com and by Joseph Gierek Fine Art www.gierek.com – Thank you for letting me tell you a story!
        sue clancy says:
  6. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    Thank you Bernadette, I have been wanting to help, the WCK sounds amazing, thanks for the link~
    Jenna

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