ena Zelenska discusses school nutrition reform with Swiss government representative

As reported by Ukrinform, this information was provided by the press service of the Presidential Office.

The main issue of discussion was the reform of the school nutrition system, one of the priority initiatives of the First Lady.

Zelenska thanked the Swiss Embassy and the Swiss-Ukrainian projects DECIDE and Act for Health, which became among the first international allies to support this reform.

“We jointly created the Znaimo portal, which is a platform with information on the progress of the reform for all interested parties. Webinars and online courses for teachers and administrators were also initiated, and a culinary selection for educational institutions by chef Evgeny Klotenko was released,” the statement says.

The First Lady shared an update on the progress of the reform, highlighting the Ukrainian president's announcement last fall about the launch of a free school meals program for primary school students. She noted that this initiative will be expanded in September of this year.

“The main challenges, especially given the expansion of the program, remain infrastructure and staffing. Currently, only 20% of kitchens and canteens in the country meet modern standards. There are currently 17 educational and practical centers for training school cooks, six of which were created with the support of Switzerland. The goal is to create at least 60 such centers,” Zelenskaya noted.

The President's wife expressed confidence that with the help of Swiss partners these plans will be successfully implemented.

As reported by Ukrinform, the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and the First Lady of Finland Susanna Innes-Stubb discussed the restoration of shelters for schoolchildren and the promotion of reforms in the school nutrition system.

Photo: Office of the President