Free meals for primary school students: when program will start and what parents need to do
Funds from the budget for free meals for primary school students have begun to flow to regions and communities. Next, communities must approve their use at a local council session. Parents can be active and encourage local authorities to speed up this process.
This is stated in the explanation of the Office of the Educational Ombudsman regarding free meals for primary school students, Censor.NET reports.
"Recently, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has provided funds (subvention) from the state budget to local budgets to provide meals to primary school students in general secondary education institutions in 2024. The relevant resolution No. 1145 was approved on October 4, 2024.
Which schools will receive funds for meals
Please note that pupils are provided with one hot meal per day, regardless of how many meals the child has during the day. That is, either breakfast or lunch can be free of charge. Only municipal educational institutions receive funds for meals.
These funds are used to purchase food if the educational institution has cooks and they prepare food for students. In this case, the funds cover 100% of the cost of food. If meals for students are provided by catering or outsourcing services, no more than 70% of the cost of such services is covered by the subvention. The remaining 30% of the funds must be allocated by the local community," the Office of the Educational
Ombudsman explained the program.
The Office also explained when the funds will be received by educational institutions and how parents can influence this.
"We briefly describe the procedure for receiving funds and providing free meals to students:
- The resolution was adopted, and funds began to flow to the regions and communities.
- When the community receives the funds, it has to do the following:
Convene a session of community deputies and make changes to the 2024 Budget of the territorial community (if meals are provided by the educational institution, they are prepared by cooks)
to convene a session and make changes to the 2024 territorial community budget and allocate funds from the local budget - 30% of the cost of meals if educational institutions use catering or outsourcing services.
And here, the role of parents is important to ensure that the community session is held on time, that changes to the community budget are promptly adopted and funds are allocated (if necessary).
After all, at the end of 2024, if the community does not use the subvention funds, they will return to the state budget.
- The community should transfer the funds to the relevant educational authority (education department or authority). If educational institutions have financial autonomy, the funds should be transferred to schools.
- Food is purchased by education departments (authorities) or educational institutions.
Depending on the amount of the procurement, whether it is goods (food) or catering or outsourcing services, the duration of the procurement procedure in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement" can approximately last from 5 days to 1.5 months.
- Preparation of food purchased with a subvention or provision of services by a catering or outsourcing company.
"Therefore, we urge communities to make the necessary decisions in a timely and prompt manner to ensure free meals for primary school students. Parents can also take an active position in this matter, as there are communities where it is difficult to gather deputies for a session, so we advise you to get actively involved in self-government processes. After all, your activity and position will determine whether your children's rights will be respected," the Office of the Educational Ombudsman called.
