Raw carrot served to children for lunch sparked a major scandal. The Prime Minister of Ukraine intervened

Ukrainian serviceman and journalist Vitaliy Oliynyk 2 published a photo on Facebook in September of the lunch served to ninth-graders at one of the educational institutions in Chernivtsi.

The photo showed a piece of bread, a raw carrot, a piece of casserole, and tea.

"Colleagues, friends, acquaintances from other regions, have your schools also prepared similar free lunches for older students from the First Lady [Olena Zelenska]? Because in Chernivtsi today it looked like this: a piece of bread, a carrot, a piece of casserole, and tea. There was also a plum," he wrote.

The post quickly gained attention online and put all the relevant agencies and departments on alert. The head of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration, Ruslan Osypenko, was the first to respond to the journalist’s post on Facebook.

"Today I received information about the breakfasts and lunches that were offered to students at one of the educational institutions in the city of Chernivtsi. I consider neglecting the quality and safety of children’s food unacceptable! Therefore, I have immediately initiated an official inquiry," he wrote.

Later the school meal scandal was also commented on by Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretsky in Telegram. He instructed the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, together with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, to check the quality of school meals directly at the institutions.

"The state has provided the necessary funding so that children in every single school receive quality lunches. All identified problems must be eliminated without delay," he said.

The Chernivtsi City Council’s Department of Education stated on Facebook that the problems arose due to the introduction of free meals for a significantly larger number of children.

"Just yesterday we contacted the contractor who provides food to our children at that institution and discussed the situation with the school administration. We are categorically dissatisfied with the appearance and quality of such meals, and food should not be served like that. Our children will certainly receive food in proper condition. Free meals for all children in schools is a very complex initiative to implement. Yesterday more than 26 thousand children were fed in schools, instead of the usual 10 thousand per day that were fed last year. The burden on school kitchens and staff is enormous. We are going through such a large-scale process for the first time, so mistakes at the start do occur," they explained.