On November 12-13, the European Regional School Meals Summit took place in Kyiv. On the first day, the event brought together about 500 high-ranking officials, leading experts and public activists from Ukraine and other European countries. Andrii Lytvynchuk, PhD in Economics, Director of the SSI “Institute of Educational Analytics” and Hanna Tereshchenko, PhD in Economics, Deputy Director for Scientific and Organisational Work, participated in the event.

The summit was opened by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, who stressed that the health of our children is an absolute priority for Ukraine:

“1.8 million secondary school students are provided with meals. About half of them eat free hot breakfasts or lunches at the state’s expense. Starting this school year, free hot meals are available to all primary school students. This year, the government has allocated UAH 2 billion to the local level. Changes are underway in food procurement. We focus on local producers and thus stimulate farming and entrepreneurship. We are carrying out a systematic modernisation of canteens in schools in all regions of Ukraine, which have not been updated for decades”. In total, according to the Prime Minister, 172 projects are being implemented that will create comfortable cooking and nutrition conditions for more than 150,000 students.

The experience of implementing school meals reform in Ukraine was presented by First Lady Olena Zelenska, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi and Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.

The First Lady Olena Zelenska recalled the key stages of the reform, which began before the war, and emphasised the importance of the programme adaptation in wartime:

“Food is a significant component of success in education and life. That is why we first gathered many different institutions at the same table: The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economy, representatives of NGOs, including nutrition experts, chefs, doctors, nutritionists, dietitians – and we started to act, step by step”, Olena Zelenska said.

Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine presented four strategic goals of the school meals reform: strengthening community capacity, modernising school canteen infrastructure, developing human resources and communicating healthy eating. He emphasised that these goals contribute not only to improving school nutrition but also to the development of local communities and the formation of a healthy lifestyle culture among children.

“This year, we have UAH 1.5 billion in subventions for the arrangement of food units in school canteens. Healthy nutrition for children in schools starts with updating equipment and reviewing approaches to the entire technological process. The most important thing we need to realise is that when we talk about school catering reform, we mean not only providing children with lunches, but also more global issues – creating a new culture of healthy eating habits”, Oksen Lisovyi said.

Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine, shared the achievements of the school catering reform. In particular, he spoke about the new Sanitary Regulations and Government Resolution No. 305, which set the standards for school meals. He also reminded that over the years of reform implementation, a new menu for schools has been developed, the modernisation of the material and technical base of educational institutions has begun, and 4 national forums have been held for representatives of more than 1400 communities.

“The goal of the school meals reform is to develop healthy eating habits in children and to reinforce them. It is about preserving their health both now and in the future. That is why, despite the war, we continue working actively to implement the reform. And we have a lot to be proud of: updated nutrition standards that include all the products necessary for the harmonious development of children, an approved seasonal menu, and food safety requirements. We are happy to share this experience with our Coalition partners to ensure that its ambitious goal of providing every child with a healthy, nutritious lunch at school every day by 2030 is achieved”, said Viktor Liashko.

The event was also attended by representatives of governments and embassies from more than 20 countries, including Norway, Finland, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Slovakia, Austria, Brazil, Spain, Moldova, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Sweden, France, Bulgaria and other countries. These governments are providing important support to Ukraine’s recovery and development, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare and food security.

In addition, the summit was attended by representatives of more than 20 international organisations, such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), the WHO Office in Ukraine, UNDP, the Swiss-Ukrainian project ‘Decentralisation for Democratic Education’ (DECIDE), Temet International Oy Ltd, Italian Agency for Cooperation Development (AICS), Consortium for School Nutrition and Health Research, JICA, Partnership for Child Development, KEK-CDC, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the World Bank.

The European Regional School Meals Summit was an important milestone on Ukraine’s path to integration into international school meals initiatives. In 2023, Ukraine joined the School Meals Coalition, which opened up new opportunities for sharing experiences and implementing best practices. This is also an important step in the development of the school meals reform in Ukraine, initiated by First Lady Olena Zelenska in 2020.

This year’s summit in Ukraine provides an opportunity to showcase our achievements in school meals reform to the international community, as well as to identify new strategies and policies in the field of school meals. Thanks to the efforts of leaders from around the world, school meals are becoming an important part of the global strategy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Information from the Press Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine