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

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.

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 fromKyivand 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.

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 collaboratewith a Ukrainian in St. John's.

"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.

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