MWW’s Kids Fruit initiative supports farmers in war torn Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the importance of the country in the world’s food supply chain. With 42 million hectares of agricultural land and highly fertile black soil, Ukraine has been referred to as the ‘breadbasket of Europe’ because of its large-scale production of staple grains such wheat, corn and barley. It is also the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil.

In addition to these key commodities, Ukraine is also a major producer and exporter of apples, as well as other fruits such as peaches, apricots, cherries and pears. At the end of 2021, Ukraine had exported 22,000 tons of apples from the new harvest.

MWW has worked with fruit growers in Ukraine for many years. Since 2019, the company has worked with the GADZ family-run farming business based in the Ternopil region in western Ukraine. With 600 employees, GADZ specialises in fruit production, growing apples, pears and plums over 600 hectares, and providing dried fruit, apple chips and honey to its customers.

For the September to May season, GADZ will be growing Gala, Golden Delicious and Fuji varieties, and will harvest and store somewhere in the region of 15,000 tonnes of apples.

From December until Easter 2023, the Gala apples grown by GADZ will be shared with Midlands’ school children through MWW’s Kids Fruit scheme.

Mark Driver, the Public Sector Lead at MWW who has been running the Kids Fruit initiative for more than two decades said: “We are extremely proud to be supporting the resolute and stoic people of Ukraine during these challenging times. Ukraine has been an extremely valued food supply partner to us, and much of the European Union, with its wide selection of fresh produce.

“Sadly, it’s taken a war for the country’s contribution to global food supplies to be recognised. We will continue to support our growing communities in the country as much as we can through existing partnerships, like the one we have with GADZ. The apples we are sourcing from them ensure UK children have access to good quality fresh fruit, while GADZ employees and their families are also being supported through these difficult months.”

You can find more information about Kids Fruit on its dedicated website. Alternatively, you can contact Mark Driver (contacts) to discuss the Kids Fruit initiative and how you can get involved.