With the assistance of the World Central Kitchen, more food is being put on the plates of Ukrainian refugees who have been undertaking an arduous journey to safety.
Spanish-American chef and World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres has set up kitchens on the ground to feed thousands of refugees for free in war-torn Ukraine and other border points. Andres, who has been running World Central Kitchen since 2010, was on the Polish border a few days ago and has now moved inside Ukraine, proving a hot meal to people awaiting evacuation as the Russian offensive continues for the 10th day. .
At a restaurant in Lviv, Andres begins assisting the staff who were already preparing free meals every day for the refugees. With the help of World Central Kitchen, more food is being poured onto the plates of refugees, who are on an arduous journey to safety.
Food cooks quickly and ends quickly. Back in the kitchen, more food is already being cooked for the refugees to stop and eat and then continue their journey.
In a video shared by Andres, he reports from the Polish border with Ukraine where a kitchen has been set up to provide food to the hungry. There are also kitchens in Hungary, Romania and Poland.
"People of the world... reporting from the Ukraine border! This is one of those places where @WCKitchen has a hot meal. Tonight it's below freezing and I'm meeting a lot of refugees, families who are fleeing and Don't know what will happen next… We will try our best not to disappoint them!” he tweeted on February 28 along with a video that has garnered over 35 lakh views.
“People are cold, families are cold. They took whatever they could. They have kids. It's freezing winter. We're already eating in Romania,” he says in the video.
The World Central Kitchen in Medyka, Poland is also cooking.
People of the World…Reporting from the Ukraine border! This is one of the places @WCKitchen has hot meals. It is below freezing tonight & I am meeting so many refugees, families who are escaping & don’t know what’s next…We will do our best not to let them down! #ChefsForUkraine pic.twitter.com/YiEemUfLlC
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) February 28, 2022
“A quick look at the food service tonight in Medica, Poland! The team has served around 1,000 meals to families near the border, and we will continue to eat overnight. We have 2 different partners serving hot soup and panini as well as serving fresh plates of pasta,” the organization's Twitter handle posted along with a video.
Both Andres and World Central Kitchen are regularly posting updates on where they have been installed so that no one goes hungry in the looming crisis.
In today's video update, the World Central Kitchen is working outside Lviv railway station, where thousands of refugees keep arriving, especially from the East.
"It's below freezing outside Lviv train station where Ukrainians come through the night from the east. @natemook and the WCK team brought Bograch, a hearty stew, to keep families warm. Ivan, a car dealer who turns soup provider Gone, set up a huge skillet here!" Tweet reads.
It’s below freezing outside the Lviv railway station where Ukrainians arrive through the night from the east. @natemook & the WCK team brought bograch, a hearty stew, to keep families warm. Ivan, a car dealer turned soup provider, setup a huge cauldron here! #ChefsForUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/5NBABlTuFw
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 5, 2022
The war has displaced a million Ukrainians who have left home for neighboring countries in search of shelter. Carrying only essential items, families have to face long walks and long queues to reach safe destinations.
Russia has announced a ceasefire to allow humanitarian corridors to be evacuated from the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha after 10 days of violence that killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, including children.