Shmyhal named three key areas of school nutrition reform
The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal spoke about three key areas on which the government is focusing in the school nutrition reform.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Government portal.
"The first area is to cover as many children as possible. As of today, 1.8 million secondary school students are provided with meals. About half of them eat free hot breakfasts or lunches at the expense of funds provided by the state. Starting this school year, free hot meals are available to all primary school students. For this purpose, in 2024, the Government allocated UAH 2 billion to the local level," Shmyhal said.
The second area is the balance and quality of nutrition. According to the Prime Minister, a great deal of work has been done to develop a high-quality school menu. It is based on health benefits and inclusiveness, that is, taking into account the special dietary needs of each child. "There are changes in food procurement. We are focusing on local producers, and thus stimulating farming and entrepreneurship," the Prime Minister said.
The third area that the Prime Minister announced is the food infrastructure. Food units in schools in all regions of Ukraine are being systematically modernized, as they have not been updated for decades.
"We have allocated UAH 1.5 billion for the overhaul of school canteens and the purchase of modern equipment for them. We are implementing 172 projects that will create comfortable cooking and nutrition conditions for more than 150 thousand students," said Shmyhal.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the Government also has ambitious plans for the future. In 2025-2027, it is planned to modernize more than 800 food units and create 12 kitchen factories that will deliver food to a number of schools and kindergartens. A pilot project of such a factory has already been implemented in Bucha, Kyiv region.
