Fountain Hills’ Sweet Corn Market is graced with vendors from neighboring towns and cities, as well as those originating right here in town. Last Saturday’s special guests, however, traveled from Ukraine to present their soups to the community, and their harrowing journey makes their soups all the more special.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Podilskas thought Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, would be the safest city. Julia Lombardo watched from thousands of miles away in disbelief as her childhood home was bombarded by Russian artillery shells.

“Every day, all day, we were just glued to the TV, just watching,” Lombardo said.

In Kyiv, Victoria Podilska, her husband Oleg, and her daughters, Mariana and Karina, grew increasingly anxious as air-raid sirens rang throughout the night. Containers of water were left out in case a fire suddenly broke out, and Mariana and Karina slept in the hallway away from the sounds of fighting. During the night, an explosion rattled their apartment, prompting the family to run and hide.

It was at this point that Victoria reached out to her niece, Lombardo, a Fountain Hills resident, asking if they could come and stay with her.

“How can someone say ‘No’ to that, after watching for days on TV the horror that was unfolding over there?” recalled Lombardo.

Ukraine State Border Guard Service prohibited men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country following Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s declaration of martial law, leaving Oleg behind to fight as his family fled.

Only packing enough clothes for a few days, the three stood for hours in line to cross the border of Ukraine into Slovakia. From there, they traveled to Austria and then Germany, where they were scheduled to catch an international flight to the U.S. from Frankfurt, Germany. They were denied access to the flight despite having a printed document from the White House spelling out the Biden Administration’s stance on providing refuge to displaced Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression.

“I had to send them a picture of my passport so that they would let them on the plane,” recalled Lombardo, which ultimately allowed the family to travel to the U.S.

Over 30 years ago, Lombardo remembers making the same trip from Kyiv at the age of 12. As a Jewish family evading the grips of the Soviet Union, Lombardo landed at Kennedy Airport in May of 1990 with her family, but only after spending five months in Italy awaiting the proper paperwork to travel.

“At that time, teachers would fail their Jewish students on purpose,” Lombardo said.

Despite the religious persecution, her memory of Kyiv is a beautiful city, streets lined with chestnut trees and bejeweled with golden-domed cathedrals. Now, these historical monuments are in danger of destruction.

In the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Russians and Russian proxy forces have demolished 43 religious sites, and a total of 53 culturally important sites have been damaged throughout Ukraine. As Kyiv is targeted by Russian forces, the irreplaceable 11th-century cathedral of St. Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage monument, is in danger of destruction.

Podilska and countless others have been displaced on account of the conflict in Ukraine, and while the future of their family is unknown, for now, they have found a home in Fountain Hills.

“There are markets all over the city, where people come from surrounding villages to sell their goods,” Lombardo said of Kyiv. “Meat, eggs, bread, cheese…everything is fresh.”

Podilska’s soups are uniquely European in that she makes her food from scratch and only uses fresh ingredients. Up to this point, her soups have been enjoyed by her family, but with the help of Betsy Hess, the organizer of Sweet Corn Market, the Podilska’s are offering Fountain Hills a taste of home.

At the Sweet Corn Market, “Smachnogo,” meaning “bon appetit” in Ukrainian, displays chicken soup, spinach soup, vegan vegetable soup and a uniquely Ukrainian borsch made from beets with cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Other treats will be available for purchase including noodle cakes, crepes and lemon pound cake served at the upcoming Sweet Corn Market on July 2, which will be the last market until the Fall.

As her household has grown by three, Lombardo comes home from work to a full house, her aunt having spent hours cooking her soups and baked goods. And in preparation for the Sweet Corn Market, the kitchen is open all day.

“We’re afraid that we won’t have enough,” Lombardo added. “There’s only so many pots and ovens, but we’re going to make it work.”