The organization of safe and high-quality nutrition for children in educational institutions is one of the priorities of the modernization of the school nutrition system.
This was announced by the Minister of Education and Science, Serhiy Shkarlet, during a speech at the dialogue platform "Education of Ukraine 2021: strategic goals in action".
According to him, one of the priority directions for the modernization of the school nutrition system, the reform of which was initiated in 2019 by the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, is the organization of safe and high-quality nutrition for children in educational institutions.
Thus, in 2020, 400 million hryvnias were allocated from the state budget to repair and purchase equipment for school canteens.
"In addition, more than 96 million hryvnias were financed on the basis of co-financing by local budgets - this once again emphasizes the strong support for the reform in the regions," emphasized Serhiy Shkarlet.
The minister also said that in each oblast there are regional plans for creating proper conditions for safe food in educational institutions, systematic training of personnel involved in the organization of school meals is provided, and the organization of school meals is constantly being improved.
The remainder of the educational subvention, which was allocated for the renewal of food blocks in 2020, is distributed by the Government based on the number of students in the regions. In particular, the largest amount of state budget funds was directed to the budgets of Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Odesa regions and the city of Kyiv.
In addition, during the past year, the Sanitary Regulations for general secondary education institutions were approved. This document defined clear requirements for food products for the organization of school meals and introduced the possibility of meeting the special dietary needs of students.
"To continue the information campaign about nutrition reform in April 2021, we expect the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Ukraine and the Ministry of Education. The purpose of this document is to ensure mutual understanding and cooperation for the promotion of nutrition reform in kindergartens and schools of Ukraine," added Serhii Shkarlet.
