As many of you already know, the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is looking more dire by the day, with tens of thousands without food, power and water, and 1.7 million (and counting) fleeing the country for fear of losing their lives. In response to this, TastemakersCHS, a local culinary social media club, has launched the CHS Restaurants for Ukraine campaign.
The campaign is inspired by Ukrainian Chef Ievgen Jlopotenko, who has converted his restaurant into a bomb shelter, and is working to feed the Ukrainian army and instruct Ukrainians about what they can cook with the limited goods they have in their homes and at shelters.
TastemakersCHS is asking local restaurants to choose a dish or drink and pledge $1 from every order through March 31st to GlobalGiving’s Ukrainian Crisis Relief Fund – which has a goal of raising $17 million to help with shelter, food, and clean water for refugees, as well as health/psychosocial support and access to economic assistance.
At the time of publishing, 19 Charleston area restaurants were onboard – with more joining each day.
TastemakersCHS is also matching up to $500 in donations to the Crisis Relief Fund when individuals post their donation receipts showing they supported the cause and tag @TastemakersCHS on Instagram. The group's hope is to take the initiative statewide and continue it beyond April 1st as interest increases.
People can visit www.tastemakerschs.com for a list of participating restaurants, and interested restaurants can email tastemakerschs@gmail.com with the dish or drink they wish to pledge donations from.
The list of local participating restaurants and their designated charity items (as of publishing):
- 82 Queen- Beet Mule
- Jalisco- Beet Mule
- Florence's Lowcountry Kitchen- Beet Mule
- Pink Cactus- Queso
- FIG- Gnocchi
- Malika Canteen- Shakkar Kandi Chaat
- Holy City Brewing- Porkstrami Reuben
- Freehouse Brewery- Folly Blonde Ale
- Lewis Barbecue- El Sancho
- Firefly Distillery- Bluebird Cocktail
- Circe’s Grotto- Turkey Melt Panini
- High Wire Distilling- Strawberry Gin Fizz
- The Pass- any bottle of wine
- Charleston Distilling Co.- Kiev Mule
- Patagonian Queen Gluten Free- any online order
- Church and Union- Meatball dish and Ghost cocktail
- Tempest- Tuna Bomb dish and Harriott cocktail
- VIVA Tacos & Tequila- Quesabirria Plate and Millionaire Margarita
- Edmond's Oast Restaurant- Artisan Meat Share Cheeseburger and Edmund’s Oast Cheeseburger
- Bitty Chip Cookies- Any order of a dozen cookies
Be sure to visit www.tastemakerschs.com for an updated list of participating restaurants as more are added each day.
