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Krystian Przybylko, co-owner of the Krakow Deli Bakery & Smokehouse in Woonsocket, fills another plate at the All-You-Can-Eat Pierogi Fundraiser on May 1. The profits of the day’s sales were donated to help Ukrainian refugees in Krakow, Poland.
Enjoying Polish food while helping raise funds for Ukrainian refugees in Poland are, from left, Patricia Dowling, of Blackstone, Erin and Timothy Chilinski, of Chepachet, Garrett Forrest and Gary Foley, both of Smithfield.
Co-owner of Krakow Deli Bakery and Smokehouse, Marta Samek, is busy in the kitchen making some of the approximately 14,000 pierogis which were sold last Sunday, as part of a fundraiser to benefit Ukraine.
Krystian Przybylko, co-owner of the Krakow Deli Bakery & Smokehouse in Woonsocket, fills another plate at the All-You-Can-Eat Pierogi Fundraiser on May 1. The profits of the day’s sales were donated to help Ukrainian refugees in Krakow, Poland.
Enjoying Polish food while helping raise funds for Ukrainian refugees in Poland are, from left, Patricia Dowling, of Blackstone, Erin and Timothy Chilinski, of Chepachet, Garrett Forrest and Gary Foley, both of Smithfield.
Co-owner of Krakow Deli Bakery and Smokehouse, Marta Samek, is busy in the kitchen making some of the approximately 14,000 pierogis which were sold last Sunday, as part of a fundraiser to benefit Ukraine.
WOONSOCKET – Krakow Deli Bakery and Smokehouse in Woonsocket has sent 18 pallets of supplies to Poland for Ukrainian refugees, and they have no plans on stopping.
Krystian Przybylko and his sister, Marta Samek, have been in Woonsocket for 25 years and own the deli together. When The Breeze spoke to Przybylko he was waking up to start his day at 5:30 p.m., ready to begin baking for the next day’s business.
When the war between Ukraine and Russia broke out at the end of February, Przbylko knew there were people in need and decided to help. Because he didn’t have any contacts in Ukraine, but has many in Poland, he decided to send aid to Krakow, Poland, to help refugees. When it came to how they would help, the path was clear.
“What we do is food. We’re capable of doing food, and we just wanted to help. That’s what we do every day,” Przbylko said.
Their first fundraiser was a breakfast on March 6, which saw people lined up outside and around the block. The second fundraiser was a lunch on March 13, and by then, people knew the deli was a place where they could drop off aid.
“We got much more work than we ever expected it was going to be. I really didn’t think of it, I just saw people that needed help,” Przbylko said.
People started dropping off personal hygiene products, diapers, over the counter medicine, clothing for women and children, and more. Over the course of the month, the Deli has sent 18 pallets of supplies to Krakow.
“And we have enough for six more pallets,” Przbylko said. “We couldn’t send out one this Wednesday because it was raining on Tuesday.” He explained that because of the pickup deadline, they have to have the pallet fully wrapped and ready for pickup at any time on Wednesday. He said he believes they’ll soon reach 25 pallets sent.
Przbylko’s nonchalance is balanced with an appreciation for the work that goes into stewarding donations internationally, and he continues to plan events. On May 1, the deli hosted another fundraiser. This time, it an all-you-can-eat pierogi lunch, which was also a success, he said.
Beginning Monday, May 9, rather than another food-based fundraiser, there will be an online auction featuring a piece by Providence artist Umberto Crenca. Przbylko said that he got the idea for the auction when he reached out to Crenca and asked if he would be willing to donate a painting to benefit Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and Crenca agreed.
“So we thought, we’ll have this, so let’s try to get a few more pieces so we can have a proper auction,” Przbylko said. “We got some paintings by local artists, more and less known, we got quite a few gift certificates from local businesses, we got an awesome Turkish lamp, some gift baskets, and all kinds of different stuff that’s going to be auctioned off.”
Although they’ve received quite a lot more donations than they expected, Przbylko expressed an understanding that the community is appreciative of the opportunity to send aid to those displaced by the war.
“It’s incredible that people want to help, and the one big thing I got from it was a lot of people just thanking us for giving them a way to help. ‘Thank you for letting us help,’ they said,” Przbylko reflected. “We just had contacts. We’ve been sending regular packages to Poland and Europe for over 20 years, so we just knew how to do it and we started to do it.”
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