First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska took part in the “Dialogue with Communities” on the practical implementation of school nutrition reform as part of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine.
Around 50 mayors – heads of regional centers and major cities – gathered in Cherkasy to share their experience in implementing school nutrition reform and the results of the first month of the new academic year. This year, all 3 million Ukrainian schoolchildren will receive school lunches free of charge.
According to the President’s wife, this is an important stage in the process of change. It is under the First Lady’s patronage that the reform has been implemented since 2021.
“Over the past several years, the state and the reform team have consistently worked toward this new stage of school nutrition reform by changing standards and outdated recipes and modernizing kitchens and kitchen facilities. Free lunches were first introduced for primary school students across the country. Then for all schoolchildren in frontline regions. Now it is every child in every municipal school’s turn,” Olena Zelenska noted.
At the same time, the First Lady emphasized that much now depends on local communities.
“The state has established the standards and provided the funding. But each specific menu, procurement process, and method of organizing meals is determined locally by schools and communities. That is freedom. But it is also responsibility. Because the quality of a meal is not only about complying with standards. There is another ingredient as well – caring,” Olena Zelenska said.