The couple was stationed about 10 miles from the border with Ukraine, working in a giant pop-up kitchen where most everything was on wheels.<\/p>\n
They and other international volunteers made thousands of hot meals and sandwiches every day. The food was distributed at a train station, a shelter in an abandoned mall, and at the border crossing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI regretted that I didn’t go assist New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina” in 2005, Rayner says of his motivation to volunteer near a war zone. \u201cI’m really too old and fat to go fight. So this was something we could do.\u201d Rayner says he never felt like he was in danger.<\/p>\n
The World Central Kitchen was founded by Chef Jose Andres in 2010. It isn\u2019t a single place. It can pop up anywhere there\u2019s a humanitarian crisis. In April, a missile hit one of those kitchens, injuring 4 people. But that didn\u2019t stop the meal-making.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAll I can tell you is it was the most amazing experience of my life,\u201d says Owens. The people that we fed at the train station, that was probably the most powerful. We worked all day making that food and then getting to hand it to them and watch their faces, and see the appreciation and the joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens gets emotional talking about it, especially a thank you card handed to her by a woman with two children. \u201cWe handed her the sandwich, and the tears came down her face,\u201d Owens says. \u201cWe had lots of fruit\u2014bananas and apples and oranges. I made sure that we gave her everything, and I told her if she needed more to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman and her children went to a tent to eat. They soon returned. \u201cThey came back over and handed me that thank you note and you know, I felt like I should be thanking them for what they were going through. But they took the time to do that, and it meant the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ginny](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/16\/4c\/de0525ea4faeaaa68c7d97615c4e\/ukraine7.jpg\")
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Rayner says he and Owens are sharing their experience so they can shine a light on World Central Kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cA very small core of paid staff multiplied their efforts by just bringing in all these volunteers and ran them very efficiently, and when we were in the distribution centers, we saw the results\u2014these people were getting fed,\u201d Rayner says. \u201cI would encourage anybody who has the time and resources to volunteer. It was a fabulous experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rayner says he got much more back than he put in. \u201cIf you can’t (go), I would say donate money. Everything runs on money, unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Click LISTEN to hear details about their trip and why they\u2019re talking so passionately about it.<\/p>\n
More about the food<\/b><\/p>\n
Rayner says he was a cog in a human sandwich-making machine.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery bun gets a little bit of sauce. The next step, somebody lays two pieces of cheese. The next step, somebody lays 10 little salamis, just like we’d get here.\u201d More ingredients are added, then the top bun. The sandwiches are put in a bin and taken to the wrapping station.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would run cellophane 30 feet and then we’d put a sandwich at every foot and a half basically,\u201d Rayner says. Then, all 30 feet of sandwiches are rolled over and wrapped, with a knife cutting between the sandwiches so they can be packaged individually. This process went on for hours each day. \u201cWe could do probably 20 sandwiches a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens says the hot food line was equally impressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would have a beautiful salad. There would be bulgur or rice or some type of grain. There would be a hot meat, like with a gravy. There were always vegetables, and then of course, the fruit and all that,\u201d Owens says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen there was always cake. You know, these were full meals that were well thought out, and the people were so appreciative to have a variety.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn about volunteering with the World Center Kitchen, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Women](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/ed\/02\/be040aa249099ee018bc58a1b3dd\/ukraine2.jpg\")
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/fd\/00\/b9febdf04f3dbd25d6de3f3c709d\/ukraine3.jpg\")
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