Saskatoon is stepping up to help its sister city of Chernivtsi , Ukraine by hosting a luncheon on May 4th at TCU Place.

Leaders in the business community, local politicians, firefighters and other members of the community have come together to organize the $150 dollar a plate meal.

One of the organizers is Councillor David Kirton. He says Chernivtsi’s  population has grown by approximately 150 thousand since the conflict in Ukraine began back at the end of February as the city has provided shelter and food for those displaced by Russia’s invasion.

Prior to the war, 260 thousand called the southwestern city home. Kirton says Saskatoon and Chernivtsi are sister cities for a reason.

“Because of the commonalities of our people, there are commonalities in our cultures, both cities have beautiful universities of which have lead to their our agreements and student exchanges that actually started well before the two cities became sister cities.”

Recently, Saskatoon City Council approved a $10 thousand dollar donation to the Saskatoon firefighters’ union to help purchase a variety of needed items for first responders in Chernivtsi including large capacity tents, sleeping bags and medical supplies.

Tickets for the luncheon can be purchased at HOME | Uniteforukraine

Streams of Hopes, a local non-profit in Saskatoon says so far $50 thousand dollars has been sent over to Chernivtsi through their efforts along with 13 tonnes of supplies for humanitarian aid.

Since the conflict in Ukraine began, TCU Place hosted two drive-thru dinners to help raise funds for Ukraine, both of which sold out.