A few days after the outbreak of the war Oakland International put a call out to the UK and Irish food industry and the public for donations to support Ukrainian families so badly affected through displacement, food shortages and medical challenges.

To get this started, we agreed to fully fund up to 50 truck loads of delivery costs and handling. We have now completed this target and I have personally been and visited the warehouses being used for the distribution of goods from the Polish-Ukraine borders into Ukraine. We know that the aid being transported is getting to where it is needed.

The response has been overwhelming and we have now reached our company commitment of 50 truck loads (1,300 pallets of stock transported).

We set up a donation centre (pictured here Samuel Attwell who managed this) and we collected around 250 pallets of stock which we sorted alongside volunteers and transported to Ukraine

Donations from other collection centres across the UK and Ireland have accounted for another 25 loads. We will be producing a web page which will show the generosity of companies, charities and individuals over the coming days and will keep this updated.

We contracted with a number of Ukrainian drivers to take fully loaded trailers packed full of humanitarian aid and donations into humanitarian aid centres in the heart of Ukraine.

We use border warehouses in Poland and Romania and Slovakia for storing goods prior to direct distribution into Ukraine. Working with the City of Warsaw we are also able to direct stock to locations which will assist with displaced families in the surrounding area.

There are many more offers of donations from the public and the wider industry which we would like to be able to continue to use our established and effective routes to the people of Ukraine working in conjunction with the Ukrainian embassies and local logistics partners inside Ukraine and feeding to border warehouses and transit points.

People are asking us 'How can I help?'

We think the most effective way to provide immediate support is to help us fund another 50 truck loads of stock which will be delivered over the next 2 weeks.

We already have 9 more loads of essential food items kindly donated by Asda which need to be transported next week which we will need to fund. Another 6 loads are being planned from other donation centres and food and medical providers.

It costs around £2,000 to send a full articulated lorry over to the Eastern border warehouses in Poland. We want to fund as many trucks as possible to continue with the process which we have collectively started.

We can absolutely guarantee that all funds raised will be used for this essential work. If we get a response to this appeal that means we have more than is required for transport, then we will use the funds to contribute to the food box initiative which gives families a seven day supply per box

If there are any additional funds still left then 100% of remaining cash will be transferred directly to support the children's Lyviv .

If you cannot donate cash but have goods you can offer, please consider emailing Ukraine@oakland-international.com - we have a list of requests which changes weekly and we can update.

If your time is on offer, please email the same address and let us know what you are able to offer in terms of help in packing food boxes at our Redditch or Bardon warehouses. Any effective reduction in our costs to pack a box will be accumulated as a fund which will support more food or the children's hospital.

Thanks very much for your support.

Dean Attwell

Co-Founder and CEO of Oakland International