‘We need to love each other.’ As war erupted, Yosemite cook went to feed Ukrainian refugees
As war erupted in Ukraine, Warren McClain felt called to do something to help.
Within a matter of days, the 56-year-old was on a flight out of Fresno to Poland, determined to put his passion for cooking to good use. He spent most of March feeding thousands of Ukrainian refugees as a volunteer with World Central Kitchen.
The things he saw on the Polish border with Ukraine were a stark contrast to his tranquil life in Yosemite National Park, where McClain works as a cook at The Ahwahnee, a prestigious and historic hotel in Yosemite Valley.
Remembering an encounter with one elderly Ukrainian woman who crossed the border into Poland alone still brings him to tears. The exhausted woman started to cry after McClain handed her some soup and hot chocolate.
“I sat down next to her and put my arms around her, and we just cried together,” McClain said. “I don’t know, I think it was good for both of us to have someone to cry with. ... I don’t even know where she was going because she didn’t speak English. Interesting how people can communicate without speaking the same language. Certain things, you don’t have words for, you don’t need words for.”
A personal tragedy – the death of his teenage son, Roan, by suicide three years ago – was in his heart as he helped. He spread some of Roan’s ashes on his travels through Europe last month.
In Poland, the empathetic McClain felt the suffering around him in big ways, and he channeled that pain into something positive – cooking. He volunteered in a kitchen set up by World Central Kitchen in the city of Przemyśl, transforming trucks of donated food into hearty soups, apple sauce, and hot chocolate. The meals prepared by McClain and up to a few dozen volunteers, at the height of his trip, were served to thousands of refugees each day at a nearby border crossing and train station.
McClain heard stories of some waiting in line for days in freezing temperatures to cross the border into Poland, and young women traveling alone being kidnapped by human traffickers.
McClain did little planning before his departure from California to Poland on March 5. He packed light and paid his way with savings and some donations. His first night in Poland was spent wandering around a packed train station where there was no place for men to sleep – even if it had been allowed there. He later found lodging outside Przemyśl, and then within walking distance of the kitchen where he volunteered.
McClain spent his final days in Poland in quarantine after contracting COVID-19 there and returned home March 29. He wants to return to Europe in the future to keep helping the Ukrainian people.
This month, one partner restaurant of World Central Kitchen in Ukraine was bombed by a Russian missile.
McClain’s experience helping refugees made him even more thankful for his comfortable and peaceful life.
“I’m so grateful for having a roof over my head, a job, food in my stomach, and I think a lot of people these days take all that stuff for granted,” McClain said. “Especially coming back to the states, and I listen to people complain about – and get really mad about – stupid, trivial little things, and it’s mind-boggling to me after seeing what real suffering is about.”
He hopes more people will help those suffering in Ukraine – and in the United States – in whatever way they can.
“We need to love each other,” McClain said. “We need to be compassionate with each other, and you never know what someone is going through in their lives. ... Everybody’s got tragedies.”
How to help
- World Central Kitchen: The organization helps feed those suffering from crises around the world. More information is available at wck.org about how to donate or volunteer.
- After Roan McClain died by suicide, a Utah-based nonprofit was started by his mother. RoanYourBoat, roanyourboat.org, is “dedicated to providing support for those experiencing loss and those that are struggling.” The National Suicide Prevention hotline is 800-273-8255, or online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
