Ukrainian woman in Corner Brook convinces grocery store to stock Ukrainian food

A Ukrainian woman in Corner Brook convinced the Sobeys in the city to stock Ukrainian food products following demand from others in the region.

Olha Hubenko says Sobeys manager listened to her request

Sanuda Ranawake · CBC News · Posted: Aug 24, 2024 8:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 24

A woman in a blue dress, next to a boy in blue and green t-shirt stand in front of a boy in a blue hat and blue t shirt, and a boy in a black t shirt, and a man in a grey shirt. — Olha Hubenko and her three children and husband live in western Newfoundland, along with 300 other Ukrainians. They now have the option to buy imported food from their home country. (Submitted by Olha Hubenko)

A Ukrainian woman in Corner Brook led the push to have Ukrainian grocery products at her local grocery store.

"Everybody in our community wanted some Ukrainian products, but only we could reach out to the manager of Sobeys and he got it for us," Olha Hubenko, speaking to CBC News through her son Pasha Hubenko as a translator, said.

Two weeks after their request, Sobeys in Corner Brook came through.

A woman in a white shirt next to a young boy in a red hoodie. — Olha Hubenko with her son Pasha Hubenko. (Submitted by Olha Hubenko)

She said there was a growing need for Ukrainian products in the community, with many people wanting to keep traditional recipes alive in the family.

Hubenko was no different. She and her son Pasha are patiently waiting for a shipment of special candy from Kyiv and pickled tomatoes, a delicacy in Ukraine.

"It is really soft and like the outside comes off and it's a little bit sour but mostly it's something really good," says Pasha, describing the texture and taste of a pickled tomato.

A grocery store shelf with a variety of snacks and other food items. — A shelf at the Sobeys in Corner Brook full of Ukrainian products. (Submitted by Olha Hubenko)

Even with the new shipments, the Hubenkos have big plans on the west coast.

"If the Sobeys can't get all the products [in our] community, we're planning on opening our own little store so there's a lot of a lot more products there. We're hoping [for] that," says Hubenko.

They also plan to collaborate with a Ukrainian in St. John's.

A hand holding a package of buckwheat. The backage is brown in colour. — Buckwheat, a popular Ukrainian staple, at the Sobeys in Corner Brook. (Submitted by Olha Hubenko)

"They are doing a lot of smoke goods and stuff by Ukrainian methods. So we were planning on collaborating with them so they can maybe send some goods to us," says Hubenko.

She says there are about 300 Ukrainians now living in western Newfoundland, with about 100 of them in Corner Brook.

Because of that sizeable population, there's the demand for a specialty store, she says — from both Ukrainians and other residents in western Newfoundland.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.