RICHARD WOODRUFF - FRONTLINE KITCHEN

Ukraine 242 Podcast

As the saying goes, An army marches on its stomach and heres a man doing the cooking.
Richard Woodruff is the creator of Front-Line Kitchen, a Twitter account and organization he runs out of Lviv raising money for equipment, food, and supplies needed by soldiers on the front line, and an account advertising volunteer opportunities in Ukraine, all while volunteering himself in a Lviv kitchen making 10,000 meals a day for soldiers on the frontline.
One year ago, Richard Woodruff was lying on a beach in Spain, relaxing after quitting his job in publishing and taking a break. When Ukraine was invaded by Moscow, Woodruff went to Lviv, Ukraine. With no plan, he discovered there a kitchen where the women he calls the grandmothers had been voluntarily making home-cooked food for frontline troops since 2014. His volunteer work in the kitchen led him to become a large-scale fundraiser on Twitter. His story illustrates how the defense of Ukraine is a pervasive grassroots and collective effort of participatory citizenship.
Woodruff who works close to 24/7 says, I cant sleep because I begin to calculate how many soldiers will die because they didnt get a life-saving meal or a bandage. I will sleep after the war. He describes his journey into a whole new life, prompted by the war in Ukraine where he discovered his passion and life work going beyond the current war.