In the Kharkiv region, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska took part in the launch of a kitchen factory opened as part of the school nutrition reform.
“When we opened Ukraine’s first kitchen factory in Bucha in 2023, we were already thinking about the next one. We wanted it to appear in a region that had suffered greatly from Russian aggression and that needs a new lease of life – new jobs, economic revitalization, and better conditions for children and their parents. And today, that moment has come,” Olena Zelenska said.
The First Lady visited the new facility together with philanthropist Howard Buffett and thanked him for his support. Both kitchen factories were established with the assistance of The Howard G. Buffett Foundation. This new one will be able to provide meals for 14,500 children in educational institutions across the Kharkiv region.
“High-quality, guaranteed meals in educational institutions give parents peace of mind – at least concerning this aspect of their children’s lives. And it also gives people additional motivation to choose these communities as places to live, bringing more life and development,” the First Lady noted.
According to Olena Zelenska, special attention has also been paid to ensuring the safety of schoolchildren. A total of 43 underground schools are being built in the region, five of them with support from The Howard G. Buffett Foundation. This will enable another 40,000 children to switch to in-person or blended learning.
In addition, the First Lady visited one of the region’s lyceums and reviewed the implementation of a priority project of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?” and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine – “Reforming the Psychological Service in the General Secondary Education System: An Experimental Model for Providing Mental Health Services.”
The project is already operating in 11 institutions in the Kharkiv region and 15 institutions in the Kyiv region, where an experimental model of the psychological service is being implemented. Nearly half a thousand teachers have completed specialized training.