Renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés is supporting international charity SaveUA Foundation through his Longer Tables Fund. This new collaboration between SaveUA and the Longer Tables Fund will work rapidly to support frontline Ukrainian dairy farmers.
Over the spring and summer of 2025, 62 diesel generators of 80 and 100 kilowatts - each capable of powering a farm with 200 to 800 cows - will be deployed to Ukraine to support dairy farms in regions most affected by the war and electricity blackouts.
According to Andrii Dykun, founder of the SaveUA Foundation, these generators are much more than just a source of electricity—they are vital for the Ukrainian dairy farming industry to survive. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has continued targeted attacks on Ukraine’s energy system, impacting its people and businesses, especially farmers.
“Due to the damage to the energy infrastructure, power outages last from several hours to several days, threatening the food security of Ukraine. For dairy farms, even 1–2 hours of outages are critical, as they result in a loss of at least 1 liter of daily milk yield, and recovery to the previous level of productivity takes months. These generators will power milking equipment and refrigeration systems, ensuring that farmers can continue their work, support their communities and feed their people even in the face of incredible challenges. This isn’t just about keeping the lights on—it's keeping Ukraine's economy going,” says Andrii Dykun.
The dairy farms' urgent need for reliable alternative sources of electricity was once again confirmed by the consequences of Russia's energy terror during the record-breaking heat wave of the summer of 2024. Emergency shutdowns lasted more than 16 hours a day, and farms lacked backup energy sources to save cows from heat stress, resulting in a 20-40% drop in milk yield. The farms that will be provided with generators collectively manage approximately 40,000 cows, and almost 1.5 million Ukrainians consume dairy products made from the raw milk they supply every year. Thanks to this humanitarian support with generators, they will have additional support to maintain milk production and the health of their cows.
José Andrés said, “It’s an honor to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine’s dairy farmers and support the vital work of SaveUA. I am inspired by the bravery and solidarity of these farmers, and I am proud that the purchase of generators for war-affected dairy farms will help Ukraine continue to feed its people. Over these last three years, we’ve learned so much about resilience, about innovation, about community—and about the power of food to inspire hope. I know this is only a first step on the road to rebuilding Ukraine’s food production capabilities that the world depends on, but I hope it will bring immediate relief and stability to those who feed their communities."
José Andrés has spent over 100 days on the ground in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, leading his team from World Central Kitchen that have provided over 270 million meals to Ukrainians. Now, Andrés is continuing his support of the people of Ukraine through his Longer Tables Fund – ensuring that recovery efforts can continue moving forward in Ukraine's hardest hit areas, leaving no one behind.
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The Longer Tables Fund was established in 2023 by Chef José Andrés. This initiative seeks to address urgent issues in food systems, social justice, and education and advocacy, while uplifting communities.
This is the second joint project of the SaveUA charity foundation with José Andrés. With the support of WCK, from the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, another humanitarian headquarters was opened in Uman, Cherkasy region, where our team weekly prepared and distributed 29,000 food packages to Ukrainians in the affected areas. In total, in cooperation with World Central Kitchen (WCK), we have provided 250,000 food parcels, providing the necessary food to about 800,000 people.
