Ukraine plans free school lunches with EU support

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola visited a school in the Kyiv region to see the cafeteria and kitchen facilities that were refurbished with funding from the Ukraine Facility program.

That is according to the presidential press service, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

Zelenska noted that, in general, thanks to the European Union's subventions, Ukraine was able to update and modernize food units and canteens in more than 200 schools.

"It is important for Ukraine that European partners know that their subventions are spent effectively to implement all four main goals of the school nutrition reform: strengthening the capacity of communities, restoring and modernizing food units, developing human resources, and promoting healthy eating among children and their families," she said.

Zelenska stressed that schools are equipped in the same modern way in both large cities and villages. This is a fundamental principle of the school nutrition reform: children from different parts of Ukraine have the right to equal access, regardless of how small or remote the settlement they live in.

She also emphasized that today about two million children receive free hot meals. Starting from the next school year, it is planned to provide all students in the country with free lunches. To do this, 6,000 school kitchens need to be modernized, and more than 12,000 cooks need to be trained.

"For Ukraine, it is not only about infrastructure. It is primarily about children, their healthy future and a secure present. We thank the European Union, which is helping us to implement this," Zelenska said.