The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science told how they will reform school meals: they named 4 goals
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In Kyiv, the School Meals Reform Strategy, approved at the end of October, was presented. Relevant ministries, state structures, representatives of Ukraine’s partners and activists joined the work on it.
The goal of the reform is to ensure diverse, balanced and high-quality nutrition in schools and preschools, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine reports.
Kyiv region became a pilot region, which was one of the first to implement changes in the organization of the food system in educational institutions and showed positive results.
The Office of the President says that one of the tasks on the way to promote the reform is the development and approval of regional and local strategies throughout the territory of Ukraine.
| Photo: Wavebreakmedia/Depositphotos |
The Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovyi, said that the state is making significant efforts to provide healthy food free of charge to all students of grades 1-4 and children of privileged categories.
However, Ukraine cannot do this with its own resources in the current conditions: only among students of grades 1-11, about 650,000 children have preferential status, of which more than 223,000 are children with IDP status.
A new category of children with preferential status has also appeared – those affected by hostilities and armed conflicts. The total costs of hot meals for children of these categories reach 13.87 billion hryvnias.
“Children should receive a nutritious healthy lunch in educational institutions “here and now”. This is an issue that cannot be postponed until the end of the war.” – said Lisovyi.
Modernization of kitchens and canteens in educational institutions
The Ministry of Health notes that three technological models of food organization in schools and kindergartens have already been developed, approved and implemented in Ukraine. This line of work is one of the most expensive: reconstruction and/or restoration of food blocks require considerable investment.
For 2024, 1.5 billion hryvnias of subvention has been allocated from the state budget for the modernization of canteens in general secondary education institutions.
Improving the qualifications of cooks
Currently, there are four culinary hubs in Ukraine, where trainers are trained who will pass on their knowledge to chefs in educational institutions.
Read also: Culinary hubs will be created in three regions of Ukraine, where cooking will be taught to schoolchildren
A curriculum and a new collection of recipes are also being developed for use in general secondary education institutions, which should facilitate the work of school cooks.
Formation of healthy habits among Ukrainians
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| Photo: senkaya/Depositphotos |
Another of the main tasks of changes in the school nutrition system is to reduce the spread of non-communicable diseases in Ukraine: diabetes, cardiovascular and oncological diseases.
Biological and behavioral factors lead to them, including smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity and unhealthy diet.
According to Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko, the reform should help children to form habits that will avoid health problems in the future.
How is school nutrition reformed in Ukraine?
School meal reform in Ukraine started in 2020 at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska.
On January 1, 2022, Ukrainian schools introduced an updated menu for students. It was developed by Ukrainian chef Yevhen Klopotenko. A key feature of the changes was the transition to a healthier diet: less sugar, salt, bread, fats and offal.
Not all parents responded favorably to the reform, and a debate arose around school meals.
On October 31, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the strategy for reforming the school nutrition system for 2023-2027.
Read also: “My kids won’t eat this!”: how nutrition in schools has changed, what is (not) right about the menu and how to teach children to healthy food
Iryna Batiuk, UP. Life
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