After the scandal in Chernivtsi, the government will check school meals across Ukraine

The government has ordered a check on the quality of student meals for 1–11 classes in schools across Ukraine. The State Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service is to conduct inspections in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Agricultural Policy. This is reported by Glavcom, citing Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.

According to the prime minister, the state has allocated the necessary funding so that children in every school receive quality lunches. All problems identified during the inspections are to be addressed without delay.

The Ministry of Education and Science has received a separate directive. The agency is to collect feedback from parents about school meals and ensure a response to complaints.

The motivation for the inspections was the situation with school meals in Chernivtsi. The head of the regional military administration, Ruslan Osipenko, released photos of breakfasts and lunches offered to students of 1–11 classes at one of the city’s educational institutions.

One of the photos shows on students' plates a whole raw carrot, a piece of bread, and two small pieces of a baked dish. Next to it is a glass with a drink.

photo: Ruslan Osipenko on Telegram

"Children’s meals are not a place for economy or a formal approach," Osipenko emphasized.

The head of the OVA called the neglect of quality and safety in children's meals unacceptable and urgently initiated an official check. In addition, starting from 4 September, unscheduled monitoring visits are to begin in Chernihiv region’s educational institutions. According to Osipenko, inspectors will examine not only documents but also what children actually receive.

The situation was also commented on by the Department of Education of the Chernivtsi City Council. They reported that even earlier they contacted the contractor supplying meals to the school and discussed the situation with the school administration.

As a reminder, in May Yulia Svyrydenko, who at the time held the position of Prime Minister of Ukraine, announced a large-scale expansion of the free school meals program.

She stated that starting from 1 September hot lunches should be provided to students of 1–11 classes across Ukraine. To prepare for the program launch, the Cabinet allocated 1 billion UAH for upgrading school canteens – funding was to go to 73 school cafeterias.