Elena Zelenskaya: We need to work on school nutrition reform twice as much as to compensate for a year stolen

The event was attended by: Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Ukraine Claude Wils, Head of UNICEF Representation in Ukraine Murat Shahin, First Vice Prime Minister-Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko, Vice Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine- Minister of Community and Infrastructure Development Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky, Minister of Education and Science Sergey Town, Head of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine Olga Peschansk, Representatives of the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure.

State Consumer Service, AMCU, SE "Prozorro", Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project. “The war should not be an excuse. After the war, children study, teachers work - sometimes in extreme conditions. This is a separate form of heroism. Therefore, it is time to reform to support the educational front. In addition, we have made too much effort in the past, not to finish the case now, ”the president's wife said, opening a meeting.

The strategy of reforming the school nutrition system for 2023-2027, which was discussed by participants, provides five main areas: development of personnel potential. Restoration and modernization of food blocks of educational institutions. Financial support for territorial communities in providing food to students/pupils of educational institutions. Healthy eating in educational institutions (introduction of new norms and menu). Promotion of a healthy nutrition culture during the war.

The meeting presented an analysis of the impact of full -scale armed aggression on the school food system. According to DNU "Institute of Educational Analytics", in the 2022/2023 academic year there are 12 thousand 926 institutions of general secondary education. Of these, 8 thousand 726, or 67. 5%, there are food blocks. Almost 8,000 schools (61%) took part in the survey.

Of them in 301 establishments due to hostilities damaged or destroyed the premises of the food block; 232 The establishments have lost their equipment through hostilities and/or occupation.

Among the biggest problems of educational institutions are obsolescence or insufficient amount of equipment, utensils and furniture, air anxiety and power outage, lack of premises and an urgent need for repair work, insufficient funding, in particular for the implementation of food standards, as well as the inability to organize nutrition in martial law.

“Nowadays, almost 9,000 schools continue their educational process in eye and mixed formats, and therefore should not only provide our children with healthy food, but also cultivate the habit of proper nutrition. We are trying to adapt the menu and technological processes of cooking in schools before wartime challenges. Despite the military aggression of the Russian Federation, active development of personnel potential continues, training and training programs for cooks are being implemented.

There is an active filling and development of the portal "know". It is planned to launch a kitchen factory in Bucha. We are not standing still and are constantly working to provide good, and most importantly - a healthy and safe future of our children, ”said Minister of Education and Science Sergei Town during his speech.

As a result of the analysis and discussions, the school nutrition reform formulated the following vision for 2027: varied, balanced and quality nutrition in educational institutions; Taking into account the needs for eating unprotected people (families of students, internally displaced persons, etc. and forming in society, understanding of the dependence of health and psychological state on quality nutrition. Four main strategic goals are identified: 1.

Customers should get a sufficient financial resource for purchases and carry out them simply and efficient. 2. In the restored and upgraded food block units should use the latest technological processes, improve energy efficiency indicators, comply with the requirements of the HACCP system. 3.

Educational management bodies in territorial communities and educational institutions should form a sufficient staff of qualified workers and organize quality and quality employees Safe nutrition and contribute to the formation of healthy eating habits in students/students. 4. Ukrainians should come to a conscious choice In school dining rooms.

87 vocational education workers participated in the project on training coaches who will be able to improve the qualifications of school dining room chefs in the future. As a result, an educational training program was developed for school nutrition trainers.

This year the project "Culinary Hubi" was launched to create three centers for advanced training and development of chefs of school canteens on the basis of vocational education institutions in Poltava, Ternopil and Sumy regions; The training of 60 coaches (masters of industrial training) is organized for training courses of chefs of school dining rooms in pilot regions and a complex of educational and methodological materials for employees of food blocks is being developed.

The partners of this project are the National catering Association, the Cultfood team headed by Yevgeny Clopotenko, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Embassy of Switzerland. The plans include scaling culinary hubs throughout the country, training more than 500 coaches (masters of industrial training), updating of a complex of educational and methodological materials for employees of food blocks, pedagogical workers by profession "Cook", "Cook of school food".

Education institutions should work with motivated and professional doctors, nutritionists, food blocks. The president's wife thanked the participants of the meeting and noted that this year, it was necessary to work twice as actively on the reform of school nutrition this year to compensate for the war stolen. “This year we have learned to worry more about each other and take even more responsibility for those nearby.