About Food for Life Kharkiv

Food for Life is the world's largest vegetarian food relief mission. Here in Kharkiv, we cook and distribute free hot meals at 10 locations across the city — to anyone who needs them, no questions asked.

We run our own kitchen, preparing hundreds of portions every week. This isn't just about feeding people — it's about the warmth everyone feels when they're served with care.

Fresh bread baked in the kitchen of Food for Life Kharkiv

Since 1994

this movement in Ukraine

Containers of hot food ready for distribution in Kharkiv

Why vegetarian food

We believe that violence begets violence. Every plate we serve carries warmth, not harm — an expression of the Vaishnava principle of non-violence (ahimsa) that inspires our mission.

Part of an international movement

Food for Life is an international humanitarian movement founded in 1974 in India, working under the shared Food for Life / ISKCON identity. Today it operates in more than 60 countries. It has worked in Ukraine since 1994, and in Kharkiv since 2023.

Our heroes, our team

28 volunteers work under a formal agreement on an ongoing basis. Beyond them, caring people join every distribution — one more person eats a hot meal today because of them.

A volunteer in an orange polo and white cap stands by an ivy-covered wall

A volunteer in an orange T-shirt explains something in the kitchen, next to a pot and a bowl of chopped red vegetables

A volunteer lifts the lid of a large pot among big metal food containers outside the kitchen

A volunteer in a burgundy apron chops vegetables outdoors, with bowls of red pepper and greens in front of him

A smiling volunteer in an orange polo and cap leans on a metal container for hot food

A volunteer in a white Food for Life Kharkiv apron sits in a park, resting his head on his hand

A volunteer in a black jacket and bright beads stands under spruce trees

A volunteer in a foundation apron and light blue gloves smiles in a park

A volunteer in a white jacket and checked scarf stands on a path in an autumn park

A teenage boy in a red apron holds a tray of bun dough in the foundation kitchen

A volunteer in an orange apron stands by a rack of metal buckets in the kitchen

A smiling volunteer in a dark cap and orange polo, close-up portrait

A volunteer in an orange apron and light blue headscarf ladles food in the kitchen

A volunteer in a beige jacket and cap stands among flowers with palms pressed together

A volunteer in a white foundation apron and dark cap stands under spruce trees, hands in pockets

A volunteer in a floral jacket with a black bag on her shoulder stands among spruce trees

UAH 3,000,000

Every gift means more locations and more hot meals

Goal: UAH 3,000,000 over the next year. Every UAH 100 provides one hot meal for someone who needs it right now. Your donation or your time brings us closer to this goal.

Join us — with a donation or with your hands

Anyone can help: by transferring to the fund's account or as a volunteer in the kitchen or at distributions. All ways are on the Help page.

Help