Papal Almoner’s Office supports solidarity kitchen in Ukraine

By Svitlana Dukhovych

In the village of Berestia, in the Rivne region of northwestern Ukraine, there is a solidarity kitchen, which was founded by volunteer Tetiana Pinchuk. As Father Viktor Bilous, a staff member of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine, explains, Pinchuk turned to the Holy See’s diplomatic mission for assistance.

“The Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, asked me to take care of the matter,” the priest recounts. “I looked into the kitchen and prepared a project, which we subsequently sent to the Office of Papal Charities at the Vatican. In a relatively short time, the Office provided funding specifically for this initiative. I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Rivne region, to the village of Berestia, to deliver the assistance in person.”

Tetiana’s idea

Tetiana is a Ukrainian volunteer who has brought together many women from her village and neighboring communities to prepare meals for Ukrainian soldiers in retort pouches—special packaging that allows food to be stored for long periods without refrigeration.

Tetiana in the kitchen

The women regularly gather at Tetiana’s home, where dedicated facilities have been set up to prepare the meals.

“When we arrived there,” Father Viktor recalls, “we were welcomed with great hospitality. I wasn’t expecting it. We went together with the pastor of the Latin Catholic Church in Sarny, since this is part of his parish territory. They welcomed us with traditional bread, a korovai, which they had made especially for us, and they explained the entire process of preparing the meals, from beginning to end.”

Papal assistance

The priest noted that the assistance from the Vatican has a twofold significance for these volunteers. They are people of faith. None of them are Catholic; they are Orthodox and Protestant.

Father Viktor Bilous is a staff member of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine

“I didn’t expect them to place so much emphasis on having received the assistance specifically from the Office of Papal Charities,” Father Viktor says. “Even when they welcomed us, they told us, ‘Representatives of the Pope have come to us.’ They also shared the news on social media. We prayed together, I blessed the food, and we also prayed for our soldiers.”

Secondly, he explained, they wanted others to see the assistance coming from the Vatican and the Pope through his Almoner, in the hope that this might encourage others to come forward and become more involved in this work.

The painstaking work of ten women

“What moved me was the fact that the volunteers organized themselves and have always relied heavily on Providence and divine help, because they do not have many personal resources at their disposal,” Father Viktor recounts.

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“I was also deeply moved by the dedication of Tetiana and the women who help her, because this is truly difficult work. I saw the large cauldrons in which the food is prepared, then the meals being packaged in retort pouches, and finally the pouches being placed in autoclaves (or pressure cookers) for sterilization and heat treatment.”

“All of this,” Father Viktor continues, “requires physical effort. The autoclave has to be placed on a gas stove and then removed. After that, labels with information about the food are put on the pouches, the boxes are packed and then sent to soldiers in different areas along the front line.”

He explains that it is a long process as it can take entire day to make a single batch. “About ten women take part, sometimes more, sometimes fewer,” Father Viktor says.

Food prepared and packaged at the solidarity kitchen

The beauty of the Church

The priest explains that, in general, the State provides food for its soldiers, so at first glance it might seem that there is no longer a need for volunteers to work in this area. However, the meals they provide have a longer shelf life and are of better quality and more enjoyable to eat.

“Therefore, if soldiers have the contact details of the volunteers who prepare this food,” he observes, “they contact them directly to get good food and thus have greater strength for their extremely demanding service on the front line.”

The volunteers have recently been preparing mainly grain-based dishes—buckwheat, barley, rice and so on. In some cases, these meals are even delivered to soldiers by drone.

Food packaging equipment

“Soldiers tell us that during shelling, a food pouch can be damaged, but because it contains grains, the food can still be gathered up,” Father Viktor explains.

“It is clear that supporting initiatives like these, however small, is very important, because so many people are involved in this work and so many soldiers receive good, nutritious food,” he stresses.

The priest adds that, as a staff member of the Apostolic Nunciature in Kyiv, he has the opportunity to see how beautiful and effective the Church—the universal Church—can be.

“Since the Nunciature coordinates various projects, I have the opportunity to see how all of this happens. I am proud that the Catholic Church can do so much good without waiting for better times. The good it does truly reaches the people who genuinely need it. This is something that always moves me, and I am happy to be involved, at least in some small way, in all of this.”