PORTLAND, Ore. — Inside a small church in Gresham, Ukrainian refugees gather. They're in the kitchen, wearing aprons and chopping vegetables. A big pot of soup is soon steaming, full of borscht, a traditional Ukrainian dish.
"It's familiar with people, familiar from their childhood," Olga Cherevatenko said of the food. "They come into a new country; they need to have something like a safe place."
Cherevatenko knows what it's like trying to find community and safety in a new country.
"I came here twenty years ago as an immigrant to United States," said Cherevatenko. She immigrated from Russia, quickly discovering a new passion for supporting others who do the same.
Now, Cherevatenko is a food systems ambassador for the Oregon Food Bank. It's a 15-month program focused on supporting 11 Oregonians who aim to fight the root causes of hunger in their own communities.
This bi-weekly meeting in Gresham is Cherevatenko's way of reaching out, establishing relationships and providing resources. Many of the people she works with are low income and struggling to make a new life in the U.S.
Aside from receiving food and cooking classes, refugees are also supported by a community health worker and IRCO, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
"Ingredients are not fancy, but food is coming out healthy, affordable, easy to cook and super yummy," she said. "They're learning how to survive, how to use whatever they have, and we are so thankful for Oregon Food Bank."
Ten other ambassadors are also reaching out to their own communities, and some spend time offering food at distribution sites. Many include culturally specific options their community members might have a tough time finding otherwise.
The Oregon Food Bank says over 500 people are supported by ambassador programs each month.
As Cherevatenko's meeting comes to a close, each person draws up a chair and takes up a spoon. Their focus is back on food, the true comfort that has brought them together. Cherevatenko calls each moment like this "always happy."