A charity event was held in the United States during which 100 bakeries baked the Ukrainian national bread, Palyanytsia. The money raised will be used to repair two mobile bakeries in Odesa, which will continue to bake bread for eastern Ukraine.
Maria Kalenska, co-founder of the Bake for Ukraine project, told Ukrinform.
"On Independence Day we baked bread in a hundred American bakeries. Some even organized a party for the Ukrainian community. People came with their families and sang Ukrainian songs", Kalenska told Ukrinform.
The Bake for Ukraine initiative has spread to America, and some bakeries have added traditional Ukrainian bread to their lineup after learning from the baking experience.
"Imagine that a small place on the planet Earth makes 100 bakeries in America bake Ukrainian bread. Americans liked our bread, and some bakeries continue to bake it. We want Palyanytsia to become a new baguette and be baked all over the world. In this way we will be known not only for the grain, but also for the final product. The popularity of Palyanytsia will work for the economy" , says Kalenska.
The efforts of the organizers proved to be extremely challenging, but they hope that the bread will become as popular around the world as the French baguette and help boost Ukraine's economy.
In total, about $40,000 was raised, which will be used to restore mobile bakeries in Ukraine that were damaged by shelling.
The first of the bakeries, purchased by volunteers in 2023, is already up and running in Mykolaiv, providing bread to local communities. The bakeries where Ukrainians are now baking bread were built in the 1950s for the Swiss Army and can produce up to 2,000 loaves of bread per day.
The Bake for Ukraine initiative was launched at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and has gained credibility in the global baking community.
Author: Danylo Pievchev