Apples & Borscht | Яблука та борщt
Rural Media’s exciting new Herefordshire-wide food and video project Apples & Borscht / Yabluka ta Borshch (Яблука та борщt) showcases and celebrates the shared lives of Ukrainians living in the UK and the Herefordians welcoming them into their homes.
Creating hope from tragedy, these communities are sharing traditions and customs that show how two cultures can unite and thrive together. Key to this new unity is food, the heart and soul of daily life, and Apples & Borscht will host a series of events around the county for people, local and Ukrainian, to come together and share recipes, rituals and customs that use food as a reason to gather people together.
Cooking, eating and celebrating will be filmed, photographed and captured for a new website that will bring all the inspiring cultural sharing together online so everyone can learn about food and traditions from the Ukraine and Herefordshire and how the two are combining to make new traditions of their own as they forge new lives here.
“After Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, millions of Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes, seeking safety across the world.
Most of them are women, children, and elderly people who left everything behind to save their lives and protect their loved ones.
The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to open its doors to Ukrainian refugees, providing shelter and support. Herefordshire played a special role in this effort — a place where communities came together to welcome Ukrainian families, helping them adapt and find housing, jobs, and education for their children.
The solidarity and compassion shown by residents became a powerful example of how empathy and mutual support can change lives.”
Alla Savchenko, our project leader was recently interviewed on Ukrainian national TV about the Apples & Borscht project and how important it has been in pulling the Ukrainian and British communities together Herefordshire.
Take a look at what we’ve been up to…
