Agricultural Project Helps Ukrainians Feed Their Families
The annual chill is slowly tightening its grip on eastern Ukraine. People fear another wartime winter as relentless attacks target civilian infrastructure, including gas and electricity. It is hard to keep warm and feed a growing family as missiles and drones harass and threaten.
Every asset is cherished in this context, and thanks to Samaritan’s Purse, more than 1,200 families are grateful for nourishing resources they have this fall that they did not have last year.
Oksana and her boys pose with produce from their family's garden.
She grew beets, carrots, onions, and more.
Oksana and the boys stand in their cellar. There's plenty of food to enjoy this winter!
Here's just some of the summer's now-canned bounty.
Our Homestead Hope project brought seeds, tools, and gardening equipment to these families this past spring and now canned vegetables, fruit teas, potatoes, and other produce fill their cellars after a successful harvest. Chickens and feed that were delivered in late summer and early fall now yield protein-rich eggs for savoury omelettes and scrambles, sweet desserts, and wholesome breads. Eggs can also be sold and the money invested in alternative heating (such as solar panels), school expenses, clothing, and other needs.
Knowing They’re Not Forgotten
At 5 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2022, bombs started falling near Oksana’s* home in far eastern Ukraine. By 8 a.m., she and her husband and their children had collected some of their belongings and began driving west. They thought about stopping in one large city in the north and then decided to turn southwest. After two days of travel, they settled near friends—still in eastern Ukraine but removed from the frontlines.
Almost five years later, they remain in the same area. Though they’ve had doubts, they’ve decided to stay. Yes, there are occasional drone attacks in their current village, but it is home and it is relatively stable. Their two young boys need that.
Oksana holds a cherished beet from her garden.
Their children also need nourishing food every day. So, Oksana was grateful to be a part of Homestead Hope this year. In spring and summer, she utilised the seeds and tools we gave her—including buckets, clippers, a rake, and a hoe—as well as a plant protection kit, which consists of a drip irrigation system, a shading net, and a hotbed frame. Her family’s hard work resulted in a bountiful harvest, including prized beets, carrots, onions, zucchini, watermelons, cabbages, tomatoes, and more.
“We use a lot of what you’ve given us,” Oksana said. “We can keep it over a long time and use in the winter.” She’s cleaned out her cellar now and filled it with jars of summer’s delights to be eaten this winter. There’s sure to be homemade borscht—a traditional Ukrainian beet soup!
Oksana and her family also received 10 chickens, plus feed, from Samaritan’s Purse. “My kids love the eggs,” she said. “My husband drinks them raw. The surplus we sell to neighbours.”
Oksana is grateful for chickens from Samaritan’s Purse. Here she holds “Kate.”
The extra income from the eggs supplements what Oksana’s husband earns by repairing large vehicles in the village. They were able to buy solar panels and a battery station as a backup system if the power and gas are hit.
“Last winter was harsh because there were a lot of outages,” she said. “We need to survive somehow.”
Over the past year, chaplains visited the family multiple times and encouraged them in prayer. Our team also gave them a copy of God’s Word, which they read in the cellar during attacks. The boys attend a local Bible club now as well.
“Thank you so much,” Oksana said considering all that the Homestead Hope project has given her family. “It’s important to understand that we’re not forgotten and people still want to help us.
“Remember us. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart.”
Celebrating the Harvest
Svitlana* struggles to find work as a single mom with four children. This past summer though she was excited to have more to offer her growing family. She sowed the many varieties of seeds given to her by Samaritan’s Purse and then reaped cucumbers, sweet peppers, radishes, lettuce, beets, and more.
“We planted everything,” Svitlana said, “and this year we had a really good harvest because of the irrigation system.”
Now they will continue to have canned produce, potatoes, and other foods for the winter. The 10 chickens we gave Svitlana through Homestead Hope provide invaluable nutrition in the form of eggs—lots of eggs. They need every one of them. Her children like to eat fried eggs, egg and tomato omelettes, and, of course, the pies and cookies their mother bakes. Our poultry add to the flock of chickens and ducks she already had.
Svitlana with her four children and some of their flock.
She relies on eggs to help feed her family.
Svitlana also received a Bible in Ukrainian from our chaplain team, as well as a solar-powered audio player that includes the New Testament and Psalms. Her children are working through discipleship materials from the Mailbox Club. Svitlana is currently studying the book of Philippians online, since there is no evangelical church nearby and the family has no car.
“We are deeply grateful to Samaritan’s Purse for this support,” Svitlana said. “It has not only helped us grow this year’s harvest but has also given my children another reason to smile. Because I was able to save money thanks to your assistance, I decided to fulfil one of my children’s dreams by creating a small playground next to our home. There are no places for children to play in our village, so now they have a safe space where they can play and spend time together. As a mother, nothing is more precious to me than seeing my children’s smiles. They give me the strength to keep moving forward, even in the most difficult times.”
The Samaritan’s Purse team in Ukraine considers it a privilege to help Svitlana and Oksana, and many others like them, as they persevere through this incredibly difficult time, said Ryan Lane, country director. Risking their own safety, our staff and numerous church partners are bringing relief to many families in danger and in need. Homestead Hope, which started just this year (2026), is only a part of our programming. With initial work dating back to Feb. 2022, Samaritan’s Purse works with local churches to provide significant aid in the areas of emergency food, water, medical care, and more. This year we are also celebrating 30 years of our Operation Christmas Child project in Ukraine.
Chaplains pray with families in the Homestead Hope project.
Please pray for peace. Pray also for the safety of our team and church partners as they continue bringing physical relief and the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the suffering.
*Name changed for security.
Support Ukraine Response
