For over four years, D.C.-based nonprofit World Central Kitchen has been providing meals throughout war-torn Ukraine. Its workers respond to villages just a few miles from the front lines, providing meals to civilians and first responders.
They also show up within an hour or two after another missile or drone attack.
Yuliya Stefanyuk, who oversees World Central Kitchen’s efforts in Ukraine, is in D.C. this weekend to share stories from the front lines of the war — and to serve up a taste of her homeland.
Stefanyuk is in town to take part in Passport DC’s Around the World embassy tour. The Ukrainian Embassy will open its doors Saturday, May 2, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. As part of the event, World Central Kitchen will showcase its work in Ukraine since the war began, serving traditional borscht, a soup native to Ukraine.
Stefanyuk ran a catering business in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, until the war started in 2022. The catering company became her gateway out of Ukraine to other European countries.
“Unfortunately, when the war started, everything stopped. And this is how I stepped to humanitarian work, and (I’ve still been here for years),” she said.
World Central Kitchen arrived to help the wave of refugees who also flooded in.
Since then, the organization has expanded its operations, setting up a few kilometers from the front lines throughout eastern Ukraine, and also responding to areas immediately following missile and drone strikes.
World Central Kitchen’s mission to aid Ukraine
Stefanyuk said WCK has provided about 300,000 meals a week to civilians and first responders in Ukraine — 297 million total since the war started. She said their goal is to deliver food within one or two hours after an attack, using a network of Ukrainian restaurant partners to quickly prepare and distribute meals.
“We started with hot meals at the beginning,” Stefanyuk said.
They’ve now expanded to food distribution and emergency provisions since then, and even provide seed and chickens to help people process their own food.
Another perk, she said, is that World Central Kitchen’s approach also keeps Ukrainian businesses running by sourcing ingredients from local farmers and working with restaurants across the country.
“It’s very important. Can you imagine the front-line regions struggling to survive? For businesses it’s really hard,” she said. “We give them chance to work and give other people normal salary and not leave this territory.”
While World Central Kitchen’s focus is on civilians and first responders, not soldiers, its teams often operate within 20 kilometers of active battlefields, and sometimes rely on local volunteers to bring food even closer to those in need.
“It’s amazing because, I believe, no other organization can do this so fast and so efficient,” she said.
Stefanyuk was used to feeding a thousand people at a time. Now, that number has climbed exponentially higher. And she’s gone from catering celebrations to providing moments of cheer to the people she serves.
“We delivered, for example, fruits for front-line kids living there. Or for Christmas, we also had sweets as a gift for them. So we’re trying to add some pleasure moment. We just recently had Easter in Ukraine, and we distributed Easter cakes to give possibility for such people, because it’s really complicated to cook this cake,” she said. “It’s a way to show that people are not alone, that they have hope, that we are close to them.”
Stefanyuk also said that support from abroad has faded since the early days of the war, but said every contribution still makes a difference. The opening of the embassy serves to remind people of the struggle still happening there, and the need WCK is trying to meet.
“We really want to share that every dollar, like small donation, will have such a great impact, sharing with people who really need this help,” Stefanyuk said.
Saturday’s event at the Ukrainian Embassy marks the first time it’s opened to public tours since the war began. Along with food, she and her team will be on hand to answer questions and share stories from Ukraine.
“I’m really … from deep of my heart, thankful for any kind of support for my country,” she said.
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