Sofiia T, Grade 10, Kyiv

Hello, my name is Sofiia Tkachuk, and I am one of the many PSI students who had their Personal Project choice influenced by the war in Ukraine. Oftentimes, when people talk about the war and occupation they focus on the larger and more dangerous issues that are present there - bombings, invading soldiers, tanks and artillery, to the point that another very important part of living gets entirely ignored: food. A main inspiration for my topic was my own experience with the russian occupation of my village, and just how big of an issue finding and cooking food was during it. Stores didn’t receive new shipments, farms had their owners killed or sent out to the front, there was no electricity, gas, cell service, or water, and even trying to trade food became an issue when enemy soldiers were camped out, and waiting to kill anyone who came outside into the streets. Thankfully, I was able to exit through a humanitarian corridor with my close family three weeks into the occupation, but my extended family was not, and sat through the entire 6 month occupation. From them, I had learned of just how horrible the conditions were in occupation, and realised how little of this information was available to the public. russians have been hiding, denying, and censoring their crimes ever since the beginning of the war, and with my personal project, I hoped to somehow show their impact on the daily lives of those living in occupation.

For my Personal Project, I focused on creating a cookbook with different recipes and guides on how to find, cook, and eat food made from available ingredients during occupation in a nutritionally balanced way. I took ingredients that were sent to my family through humanitarian aid organizations like the red cross, researched their dietary information and the dietary needs of an average person, then created recipes based on that information. Through this project I intended to show readers who did not experience occupation just how much it changed the lives of people living in it - to the point that food is no longer a given right, but something you had to struggle for. I created it with the consultation of my family who survived occupation, taking many of the recipes that they cooked, and even using their photos of makeshift stoves and humanitarian aid packaged to include in the “cooking methods” and “food sources” section of my cookbook. I did not officially publish my book, but through the way I spoke about and shared it with my peers, teachers, and during my exhibition, I spread awareness on these issues, and hopefully inspired others to donate or volunteer for relief efforts in Ukraine.