Gulf Coast Sourdough Sandwich House Launches 'Bread for Ukraine'

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS, FL — Gulf Coast Sourdough Sandwich House in Seminole Heights at 6703 North Florida Avenue wants to help Ukraine with a special "Bread For Ukraine" release. The multigrain sourdough, which is a staple bread all around Ukraine, has sunflower seeds added for extra heartiness and to honor Ukraine's national flower and symbol.

The bakery says they were inspired by Pavlo Servetnyk, a baker in Kherson, Ukraine, who has been working non-stop to continue providing food for his community as the war rages around him. Servetnyk ran a pizza restaurant before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Those interested in supporting can purchase loaves at their shop, the Sandwich House in Seminole Heights, as well as at Rollin' Oats St. Pete, Nature's Food Patch in Pinellas County, and Black Radish Grocer in Ybor City. Gulf Coast also says they will keep everyone updated when additional locations are added in the future.

For every loaf sold, they say they will donate $1 to the International Rescue Committee, an organization doing great work helping refugees and families fleeing their homes. Over 3 million refugees have been forced to flee Ukraine so far. The team at International Rescue Committee has deployed to Poland, where they are working to assist arriving refugees arriving from Ukraine.

"We've felt so helpless over the past weeks watching everything happening in Ukraine, and it's just heartbreaking. We wanted to do something, and also wanted to be able to give our amazing community a chance to join us in the effort. Bread has always connected people, whether it's through shared recipes or just bringing everyone together at the dinner table, so doing a fundraising recipe seemed like a natural fit," said Brett Wiewiora, co-founder and head baker at Gulf Coast Sourdough Sandwich House.

Carlos Hernandez is a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. He writes the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contributes to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.