Presentation of study on school nutrition reform in Ukraine
For the first time in Ukraine, School Meals Case Study: Ukraine was presented within the framework of the School Meals Coalition and the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition.
The presentation was held with the support of UNICEF Ukraine, World Health Organization in Ukraine and UN World Food Programme.
Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE project manager, spoke about the results of the four-year reform support. Among the important achievements of DECIDE team are:
consulting campaign that reached education managers from more than 1200 communities;
support to the Government in developing the School Nutrition Reform Strategy;
creation of analytical monitoring tools for reform implementation, including a dashboard reflecting the needs of 8000 schools;
support for the creation of ZnaImo portal, which contains videos, guides, instructions, and other materials for education managers from the project experts;
DECIDE Summer Clubs «We are at home – in Ukraine», where more than 27 thousand children and teenagers participate in quests and educational games on the basics of healthy nutrition;
comprehensive audit of the school nutrition system in Chernihiv community and development of a guide for community leaders on effective organization of the system;
renovated kitchen at School No. 13 in Chernihiv, which was created according to all the "canons" of the reform as part of «DECIDE: RECONSTRUCTION» project.
In the near future, DECIDE:
— will open 3 culinary hubs in vocational schools to develop human resources of the reform within «DECIDE: VET» direction;
— will complete the training of 240 vocational master trainers who will continue to train school chefs as part of initiative «Culinary Hubs. Training of Master Trainers», which is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and National Association of Public Catering;
— will launch an online course for heads of educational institutions.
«School nutrition reform is an important priority for communities. After all, for many families today, school meals are almost the only opportunity for a child to get a full-fledged hot meal. The communities also take into account that renovating the school kitchen equipment means saving local budget funds in the future. Therefore, even in the war time, communities mostly continue to support school nutrition reform. In addition, the number of reform partners is growing among international projects and organizations, and public sector. I am sure that after Victory, the reform will fully cover the entire country, as it was planned», — said Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE project manager..