TRAVERSE CITY – Ukraine is known as the “breadbasket of Europe” for its wheat production, thanks to a fertile belt of chernozem (a fertile black soil rich in humus, with a lighter layer rich in lime in below) which crosses the country.

So it makes sense that several local companies process Ukraine’s trademark crop into dollars and cents, using some of the grain to produce “green” for the beleaguered country. These monetary donations are intended to help Ukraine and people fleeing the country torn apart after the invasion in late February by neighboring Russia.

Old Mission Bakery in Traverse City and The Bread Lady in Lake Ann quickly jumped into challah bread production, donating a portion of the profits to help efforts in Ukraine.

Challah is “Jewish egg bread, often braided for a nice presentation,” according to allrecipes.com.

Using loaves of it to help the Eastern European country and its people flee the country made sense since “Ukraine is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world and its historical roots run deep,” according to jewishunpacked.com. “It is the birthplace of some of Judaism’s most distinctive ideologies and traditions…”

Old Mission Bakery developed its braided challah due to the crisis in Ukraine. Bakery owners Pete and Pearl Brown said after watching the invasion from afar, all the staff wanted to do something to help the country and its people.

“We don’t normally make braided bread,” Pearl Brown said. “When Russia invaded Ukraine (February 24), we were all talking. The staff wanted to do something.

“There is definitely a need,” added Pete Brown. “Our staff felt the need to do something.”

Old Mission Bakery staff were tasked with coming up with a challah bread recipe over the weekend.

Old Mission Bakery donates $2 for every loaf of challah bread sold to relief efforts in Ukraine. The bakery began selling challah breads on March 1 at its store, 813 S. Garfield Avenue, and is looking to expand its efforts across its 60 outlets this week.

In Lake Ann, The Bread Lady Rachel Beckwith said she had been making challah for 10 or 12 years and started selling it when she opened her business in 2019. But the challah had to be ordered from there. advance and was available for special pitches.

Traditional holiday bread

“It’s traditionally a holiday loaf,” Beckwith said. “Having it every day is something we don’t usually do.”

Beckwith said she posted a message on Facebook on Wednesday and began the process of selling cupcakes decorated with challah and sunflowers – representing Ukraine’s national flower – on Thursday.

Beckwith said she was hesitant to make the announcement, but those doubts were quickly and emphatically erased.

“For Ukraine, we only do challah and cupcakes,” she said. “He had a very good response from the community. I hesitated to post. It’s the only thing I can do to help our family.

Beckwith said she plans to make one batch of challah in the morning and another in the afternoon. She ended up doubling him and could have produced even more, a fact that became apparent when the company {span}19773 Linwood Ave{/span}nue started.

Sold out in five minutes

“The response has been huge,” Beckwith said. “We had people lined up outside the door when we opened. We sold out the challah – the whole lot of challah – in five minutes. »

The addition of sunflower cupcakes worked, since The Bread Lady traditionally creates floral desserts out of flour. All 18 cupcakes go together to create a bouquet.

After its initial offering of sunflower cupcakes and challah on Thursday, Beckwith said orders started pouring in later that day.

“It was an overwhelming response,” she said Thursday, adding that several people had also made cash donations. “People just want to help somehow, and I can relate to that.

“We already have a few orders for Friday and a ton of orders for Saturday. The community really showed up.

On Saturday, The Bread Lady sold her baked treasures at Lake Ann and the Mercato’s Farmers Market. Both sold out — even with extra challah and cupcakes at both locations supporting World Central Kitchens — leading The Bread Lady to extend the fundraiser for another week, according to its Facebook post.

Community support

After Old Mission Bakery developed their challah bread for sale, the project took another fulfilling turn when they approached graphic designer Erin O’Malley of Traverse City’s Peers and Friends. O’Malley is part of Ukraine.

“She was very excited to get this job,” Pearl Brown said.

Then Northern Label at Hesperia quickly printed the labels, “donating the art and plate costs for these labels and for hitting them so quickly,” according to a Facebook post from Old Mission Bakery.

Like Beckwith, the Browns were also impressed with the public’s willingness to help. Old Mission Bakery is contributing to the cause through a GiveSendGo account through the Slavic Evangelical Church of Traverse City. Pete Brown said there are other ways to help as well.

“The community support is so heartwarming,” said Pearl Brown. “It’s so wonderful.”

The Browns don’t know how long the bakery will be selling the challah breads to raise money for Ukraine.

“We will continue to do so as long as it sells, as long as we can make a contribution to help the people of Ukraine,” Pearl Brown said.

Furthermore, the humanitarian crisis is just beginning as millions of people have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries like Poland. Even after the fighting in Ukraine has ended, the battle will continue for months and years.

“Even if it ends now, people can’t go home because there’s no home to go to,” said Peter Brown.

Petoskey’s Lost Village Pierogi entered into that spirit with its seventh Pop-Up Pierogi & Polish Food Drive presale on March 27 at the Cherryland Center in Traverse City. Lot Village Pierogi announced that 10% of all proceeds from the event “will go to support displaced Ukrainian families who have sought refuge in Poland,” according to an email.

There will be 40 varieties of pierogis available in addition to hash browns, meats by the pound and other Polish dishes. Lost Village Pierogi will also be accepting contributions to support Ukraine.

Other companies in the region are doing other things or have already organized fundraisers for Ukraine. And most have little or nothing to do with flour and traditional challah.

Borscht and bread

The Little Fleet on Front Street in downtown Traverse City will host a Borscht and Bread event at 6 p.m. on March 28. The cost is a donation only. This is the second Borscht and Bread event, the first having taken place earlier this month at the Rare Bird Brewpub which raised around $18,000, said Marta Turnbull, one of the planners.

The My Secret Stash gift shop, on Cass Street in downtown Traverse City, will display in its window products made by Ukrainian and local artists that are for sale. Items include art prints, jewelry, scarves, stickers, and Ukrainian flags.

Turnbull, who works in marketing and short-term rentals, lived in Kyiv for about two years, until the start of the pandemic. She made several friends during her stay, most of whom evacuated the city.

Two of these friends, a software developer and an IT project manager, stayed behind to fight.

Turnbull said everyone here feels so helpless and hurt by the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis it has created. Many don’t know what to do and giving is an outlet for that frustration, she said.

Turnbull texted photos from the Rare Bird event to his Ukrainian friends.

“It’s the best thing in the world for them,” she said.

Razom for Ukraine

Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate held a fundraiser on March 12.

Grocer’s Daughter donated all Saturday sales – online and in person at 11590 Lacore Road (M-22) to “three organizations that do great work supporting the people of Ukraine: Come Back Alive, Razom for Ukraine and Voices forChildren”. according to a Facebook post.

A Sunday Facebook post announced that Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate had donated a total of $10,000 to the three organizations.

“We are blown away by your generosity and so grateful to have a community of wonderful and caring customers,” the Facebook post said. “This is how war can be won…by many small acts of kindness and courage.”

The Good Bowl, 328 E. Front St. in downtown Traverse City, announced in a March 1 Facebook post that it was donating $500 “to the Global Empowerment Mission emergency relief mission, which has a team stationed in Poland for Ukrainian refugees to provide immediate relief and resettlement assistance.

From March 2-6, Good Bowl also decided to double down on its $1-a-bowl charity program at World Central Kitchen and its efforts to feed refugees from Ukraine, according to its Facebook page.