A Dallas restaurateur's plan to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine has raised more than $250,000 to help provide hot meals to Ukrainians fleeing or defending against the Russian invasion.
Six weeks ago, Dallas restauranteur Shannon Wynne decided, instead of asking for donations, he'd add a one-dollar charge to every customer's bill.
"I just wanted to participate and help and so we made it a mandatory little tiny fee on each transaction, and it worked," said Wynne. "We didn't have time to do a lot of political what-ifs, we just took action and we got it done."
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Wynne owns more than 30 restaurants nationwide, including Flying Fish and the Flying Saucer, among others.
Wynne says customers could elect to opt-out, but the overwhelming majority were happy to help.
Money raised will be donated to Nobel prize-nominated Chef Jose Andres' nonprofit World Central Kitchen. Andres has set up mobile kitchens in Ukraine to provide hot meals for Ukrainians fleeing or defending against the Russian invasion.
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"We knew the kitchen was struggling to feed people over there, we're a restaurant so it seemed like the perfect fit," said Wynne.
According to the organization's website, more than 37 million meals have been served across eight countries.
