ORANGE COUNTY. Fla. — Poland has taken in millions of Ukrainians since the invasion began three weeks ago.
“In Poland, we need more food now because we have two million more people to feed,” said Malgorzata Olenderek.
Olenderek owns Europol Polish Deli in Winter Park and lived in Poland until she was 28. She is worried for family and friends living near the Polish-Ukranian border.
“For the last week or so, they don’t sleep because they hear the bombing. They hear the planes, so everybody is on edge,” she explained.
The war overseas is also impacting her business here. The mother of two is dealing with delays on some items she would normally carry in her store.
“The distributor said we wouldn’t have it for three to six months, and that hasn’t happened before,” she said.
Olenderek sends care packages with essential items back to Poland to help the all the women and children seeking shelter from war. She says one of the biggest needs right now is diapers, because so many kids entered the country at one time.
She hopes others will do what they can to help as well, saying, “Less talk and more action from the major countries who can do something about this like Germany, France and of course the United States and for the world to open their eyes.”