Ukraine Acted

Eastern Ukraine: Providing food kits to people living along the front line

Supported by Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, Acted and the local partners provided ready-to-eat meals to people living near the frontline in Donetsk region. Particularly in those very hostile areas with no utilities and where artillery and drone strikes are frequent, people can't always cook outside. The meals provided will allow people to stay in the shelter for up to 10 days in case it's too dangerous to leave.

Chasiv Yar city is 7 km away from the frontline in Donetsk region. There are no utilities and commercial products supplies in the city or in any of the nearby settlements. Even though there are ways to get evacuated and find another accommodation, people still decide to stay in this extremely hostile environment to be with their loved ones, farm animals, and belongings. Most of the time, the ones staying are elderly or people with disabilities who don’t want to live in the collective centers, but would rather stay in their homes and hope that hostilities won’t get to them.

 

However, the conditions those populations live in highly affects their physical and mental health: there are no communication means or utilities nearby, and even lighting a fire is dangerous as it may draw attention to their home. Since regular grocery kits need to be cooked, they are unsuitable for them, who then need help with food supply. During the food kits distributions, priority is given to the most vulnerable people: the elderly, mothers or families with children and people with disabilities.

 

We used to have a lot of plans. Now we don’t plan anything, the hardest part is that now we need to move from our village, it’s not possible to stay here anymore. It's very dangerous. I have my elderly father to move with me. He doesn't want to go anywhere, I feel sorry to leave him here, that's why I don't know what to do in this situation.

Mary*, a 39-year-old depot engineer from Ivanopillia village, one of the persons who received the food kits

Food kits distribution in Chasiv Yar

Thanks to the support of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, Acted, in partnership with the civil society organization Save Peace in UA, distributed 158 ready-to-eat food kits to families in Chasiv Yar and the neighbouring villages. Each kit contains 20 ready-to-eat rations, including porridge with meat and vegetables and a dessert.

In these hard-to-reach areas that are very close to military action, the meals distributed provide good quality food that support the physical and mental well-being of the populations. It allows people to have ready-to-eat food supplies for about 10 days, in case hostilities intensify and they can’t leave the shelter.

 

 

My older daughter lives in Dnipro and we are here with my younger one for now”, says Ms. Natalia from Toretsk city which is 7 km away from the front line. Help with any food items is very important to us, a little goes a long way in saving money. We want to move to Dnipro or Zaporizhzhya. Thank you, it helps us a lot!

 

*Names have been changed for protection purposes