22 April 2022 – Jacek Poliewski is a baker from Poznań, Poland. When he saw ruined Bucha, he decided he needed to go there to do whatever he could to help. So he typed “bakery Bucha” into Google Maps, showed it to a colleague who spoke Ukrainian and began contacting the bakeries in Bucha. One bakery in Bucha managed to survive under the bombing by miracle, and it had been forced to serve as a base for Russians during Bucha’s occupation but they now had zero supplies. Poliewski told the owner “I am coming”.
And so he drove from Poznań to Bucha with his son and friend. They brought 500 kg flour from Poland, and also took flour to Kyiv, Ukraine which local bakers had asked for. In Bucha they managed to produce about 1,200 loaves of whole wheat sourdough bread which can stay fresh for 2-3 weeks. The bread was distributed to local residents.
He also helped to scavenge for bakery equipment supplies with his new Ukrainian colleagues to get more bakeries up and running. They also started an online fundraiser to purchase baking goods and so far have raised PLN 36,000 (about €8,000 or $8,500). He is now in Kyiv helping other bakeries get back into business.
He was interviewed on Polish TV and noted:
“The most moving thing that we saw in Bucza was the empty streets with dogs running around, and the silence. There is no life. At the bakery, Russian soldiers cooked on the stove, made food and sat around. They left a huge amount of crap all over. The first two days of our stay were all about cleaning up. We were a bit afraid the Russians had left some mines, for example under paper or pallets or under a mattress, and that one of us would simply die. Luckily, nothing like that happened. Only after the cleanup was over was it finally possible to light the stove and get down to the business of baking”.
When he is back in Poznań my video team hopes to interview him.