On World Healthy Eating Day, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska visited a kindergarten and a lyceum in the Kyiv region to learn about the implementation of the School Nutrition Reform.
Both institutions have renovated kitchens and dining halls, and meals are prepared in line with modern menu standards.
“But the reform is about more than just the quality of school meals. It’s just as important that everything on children’s plates is good for them – that it helps them stay healthy and, ideally, develop healthy eating habits. And for that to happen, children and their families need to understand why their meals are prepared this way, learn to tell healthy foods from unhealthy ones, and take an interest in what they eat,” the First Lady emphasized.
Together with Minister of Education and Science Andrii Butenko, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration Tymur Tkachenko, and Head of the NGO National Association of Foodservice Orest Stepaniak, Olena Zelenska took part in interactive sessions on healthy eating.
As part of the reform, more than 2,000 school kitchens have already been modernized across Ukraine. The state continues to provide systematic support to local communities through targeted subsidies. Since September 1, 2026, at the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, free hot meals have been provided to all 3 million schoolchildren across the country.
“So the next important task for local communities and educational institutions is to maintain high quality standards and communicate actively with children and their families, so that healthy eating becomes not just something special about school, but part of a child’s everyday life – and, therefore, part of their healthy future,” the President’s wife said during the roundtable discussion “Preschool Nutrition Reform: Results, Challenges, and Prospects.”
The event focused on how to develop healthy eating habits in young children in kindergartens and continue this work in schools. Participants discussed how to help children gradually progress from their first experiences with a variety of foods in preschool to making informed food choices and understanding the principles of a balanced diet at school.