Illustration: #DashaFilippova
#Dniprooblast #Severodonetsk
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People who have lost their homes due to war can easily fall into despair because they lose everything: a roof over their head, an ordered life, clothes, basic necessities, and even the ability to cook for themselves. However, the situation is significantly improved with the help of responsible businesses that are reorganizing to help displaced people.
Many residents of eastern and southern Ukraine come to the city of Dnipro every day. They can eat for free in 36 restaurants, whose staff prepares thousands of hot meals every day from February 24, 2022. Serhiy, a displaced person from Severodonetsk, learned about one of the institutions from acquaintances and went there with his grandson. He says that he likes the conditions: polite communication of waiters, delicious dishes, and lack of crowds. And the grandson doesn't even want to eat anywhere else—he asks to go to the restaurant.
Food establishments are supported by the international foundation World Central Kitchen, which usually provides food to people affected by natural disasters. Since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, World Central Kitchen has been helping to feed displaced people across Ukraine. In Dnipro Oblast, the foundation supplies restaurants and coffee shops with 9,000 daily grocery sets, weighing up to 15 kilograms. From them, the cooks manage to prepare 350,000 portions for people forced to flee from the war.
Humanitarian aid is also needed in cities where the Russians have caused significant destruction to civilian infrastructure. For example, in Chernihiv, the Orange Family network of institutions delivers 750 hot lunches daily to those in need. These are people who have lost their homes or been forced to live in buildings without electricity. Volunteers drive up to the destroyed houses (a total of eight locations in the city and nearby) on buses, after which all those willing come to them for a portion of hot lunch. As Artem, an owner of the network, says, people often try to thank volunteers: children give drawings, and adults write words of thanks in messages.