Hot Food For Vulnerable Displaced Civilians in Dnipro

As the conflict in Ukraine enters its ninth month, thousands of people are still feeling the disastrous effects of the fighting. With winter fast  approaching, attention has turned to how these displaced people will survive the cold weather and shortages of food, shelter and supplies. 

Having supported the distribution of aid, medical equipment and food packs across Ukraine, RE:ACT is now turning its attention to funding hot food provision to fleeing civilians transiting through Dnipro.

We will be supporting three hot food distribution points, providing funding to ensure they can continue to provide meals and shelter for vulnerable displaced civilians.

For mothers and children who are displaced as a result of the conflict, an assistance centre has been set up at the railway station in Dnipro and offers shelter and three hot meals per day for up to three days. The centre provides a safe place to stay with a constant security presence and also access to medication.

Another centre is located a couple of miles away from the railway station and provides support to the elderly and those with disabilities. Similar to the railway station centre, it provides three hot meals per day as well as offering basic necessities such as personal hygiene products and wheelchairs for those who need them.

In addition to these two centres, RE:ACT will also be supporting the provision of one hot meal to those arriving at Dnipro railway station on trains from frontline areas in the East of Ukraine.

These hot food services have been set up by our partners, Ukrainian Education Platform (UEP). Previously focused on social transformation and community building in Ukraine, the UEP pivoted to provide humanitarian support to civilians in need when the conflict broke out earlier this year. Working collaboratively, RE:ACT has previously worked alongside the UEP to establish aid supply chains from Poland and the UK and most recently to provide food packs to families in front-line regions of Zaporizhzhia.

To assess how best we can continue to support the UEP, in particular the hot food provision in Dnipro, a recce team of  3  Responders from RE:ACT is heading out to Ukraine in the first week of December.

The team made up of International Operations Manager, Paul Taylor and volunteer Responders, David Harrington and Susannah Pencovich, will be undertaking a 5-day visit where they will be meeting with international humanitarian agencies and the UEP, as well as visiting hot food locations in Dnipro to assess how RE:ACT can offer support.

International Operations Manager, Paul Taylor said:

“The primary objective of this deployment is to support our partners in the UEP and ensure the ‘hot food’ project in Dnipro is running as efficiently as possible and is targeting the vulnerable and hardest to reach in line with our mission. We shall also endeavour to connect the UEP to other agencies who may be able to provide funding to keep this initiative running throughout the winter. As the war rumbles on with no end in sight, we will develop our own situational awareness through meetings with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and other humanitarian actors and identify where our capabilities may or may not be utilised in the coming months”.

Keep a close eye on our news pages and social media channels to hear from the team on the ground at the hot food centres, and to find out how this partnership progresses.