About us
We are “Franky and Coen into the breach”.
Franky en Coen springen op de bres (into the breach)
daar waar het nodig is.
Franky and Coen jump into the breach where it is needed.
We, Coen and Franky are two snack bar owners and have been friends for over twenty-five years.
When the all-out war in Ukraine was just beginning, Franky and Coen felt that they had to do something for the refugees who crossed the border into Poland by the hundreds of thousands. Franky; “With a small budget of our own money, we hitched up the trailer and drove to the Polish/Ukrainian border. There we distributed free French fries and snacks for a week. The stories we heard there from the refugees touched them deeply.
On the way back to the Netherlands we came to the conclusion that they wanted to continue and because in the meantime the media had picked up the story, donation money came in so we could continue our actions. First several times in Poland and then in Ukraine.
The first time in (western) Ukraine felt quite scary because we had never been in a country at war before. And the first air alert felt intense. Over the past few years we have been to Ukraine dozens of times and distributed hundreds of thousands of servings of French fries and snacks. First in western Ukraine and then further and further east. The last trips we mainly went to the front in eastern Ukraine because help and support is most needed in the front area.
Nowadays we not only distribute French fries and snacks but also give all kinds of relief goods such as stoves, generators and we also assist war victims financially and we accommodate refugees in our shelter in Dnipro.”
Franky and Coen are regularly asked as speakers at conferences to explain the war situation near the front. Dutch politicians also went with them to Ukraine and were guests both at the Dutch parliament and also at the Ukrainian parliament. In Ukraine they are known because reports about us were made several times for Ukrainian newspapers and TV. In October 2024 they are judges in the program “Masterchef Ukraine” which is very popular in Ukraine.
Franky and Coen are go-getters and will therefore continue with their actions in Ukraine. On this site and through their social media they will continue to report. Of course we hope for your support. You already support us if you follow us on our social media and subscribe to our newsletter.
Franky and Coen were in the media a lot which gave them financial support from people like you and me. Franky and Coen took many trips first to the Polish/Ukrainian border and then in Ukraine.
They were among others in the Lviv region where they went to refugee sites and orphanages to bake the most delicious fries and snacks, but they also went to the pre-Carpathians to bake for refugees, the disabled, the elderly and refugees. They also went to the hard-hit towns of Irpin (where 70% of the houses were destroyed during rocket attacks and shelling), Borodyanka (where many people were killed), Hostomel (where the big battle of the airport took place) and Boetsha where hundreds of people were killed and mass graves were found. They were much active in the Kiev region.
In the later trips, Franky and Coen started working closer and closer to the front. Thus they were several times in the Kharkiv region where they worked in Smiïv, Balakija and Izum, among other places.
The last trips were largely to the Donbas. Here they baked fries in Sviatogirsk, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Lyman (10km from Bakhmut), among others. And many more small villages.
A terrible war has been going on in Ukraine since Russia invaded with brute force on Feb. 24. Since then, Ukraine has been fighting for freedom. Ukraine's freedom but also for our freedom! Coen and Franky are 100% behind Ukraine and are doing their utmost to help victims of this war.
On social media and this website we give continuous updates of our actions with photos and videos. So if you make a donation you can also follow what is being done with it.
Franky and Coen were in the media a lot which gave them financial support from people like you and me. Franky and Coen took many trips first to the Polish/Ukrainian border and then in Ukraine.
They were among others in the Lviv region where they went to refugee sites and orphanages to bake the most delicious fries and snacks, but they also went to the pre-Carpathians to bake for refugees, the disabled, the elderly and refugees. They also went to the hard-hit towns of Irpin (where 70% of the houses were destroyed during rocket attacks and shelling), Borodyanka (where many people were killed), Hostomel (where the big battle of the airport took place) and Boetsha where hundreds of people were killed and mass graves were found. They were much active in the Kiev region.
In the later trips, Franky and Coen started working closer and closer to the front. Thus they were several times in the Kharkiv region where they worked in Smiïv, Balakija and Izum, among other places.
The last trips were largely to the Donbas. Here they baked fries in Sviatogirsk, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Lyman (10km from Bakhmut), among others. And many more small villages.
A terrible war has been going on in Ukraine since Russia invaded with brute force on Feb. 24. Since then, Ukraine has been fighting for freedom. Ukraine's freedom but also for our freedom! Coen and Franky are 100% behind Ukraine and are doing their utmost to help victims of this war.
On social media and this website we give continuous updates of our actions with photos and videos. So if you make a donation you can also follow what is being done with it.