Ukraine hosts the European Regional School Meals Summit for the first time

On 12-13 November 2024, the first European Regional School Meals Summit was held in Kyiv, where representatives of governments, international and non-governmental organisations, experts, and representatives of Ukrainian territorial communities joined the discussion of the progress and challenges in the school meals reform launched in 2020 at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska.

The event brought together abound 500 participants, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the First Lady Olena Zelenska, representatives of governments and embassies from over 20 countries, and international organisations, including the Swiss-Ukrainian project DECIDE, which partnered with the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine to host the regional stage and expo zone.

The event was dedicated to discussing the provision of school meals and became a platform for sharing best practices of the coalition member countries, Ukrainian communities and regions.

The summit covered a wide range of topics on two stages - the main and regional - and included a presentation of Ukraine's achievements in school meals reform, panel discussions on the role of healthy eating in education and physical development of children, and demonstrations of innovative approaches to school feeding.

The expo zone, where communities from different regions of Ukraine presented best practices and needs for reform implementation, was of particular interest.

First Lady Olena Zelenska stressed that the reform was launched before the full-scale invasion, and despite all the challenges, Ukraine continues to implement it. She also stressed the need for a comprehensive approach:

«Food is a significant component of success in education and life. That is why, first of all, we brought together many different institutions: The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economy, representatives of NGOs, including nutrition experts, chefs, doctors, nutritionists, dietitians — and started acting, step by step».

Simon Troller, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, also noted the importance of this reform for Ukrainian communities and shared the achievements of Swiss-Ukrainian cooperation:

«We have supported food safety management systems in 200 educational institutions. We are also working to improve the quality of milk production and its implementation in Ukraine, and supported the development of a new recipe book. Most importantly, we will provide analytical support to communities and the Government in planning and implementing the reform. We can see the huge motivation of communities to create positive changes for their children, and it is really inspiring».

Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, spoke about the Project's comprehensive approach to school meals reform in Ukraine:

«After the decentralisation, all territorial communities were willing to change the meals system and were ready to invest their time and resources in it. This was the moment when we got engaged. We conducted a series of trainings, contributed to the development of the "Znaimo" portal, supported the Government in developing a school meals reform strategy, and developed a dashboard of school needs. Since 2021, within the framework of the consultation campaign, we have reached 5,000 representatives of local authorities, including education divisions, who are now responsible for nutrition, including procurement and implementation of safety management systems (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), and we have also developed two guidelines together with public authorities».

The DECIDE project demonstrates a comprehensive approach to reform implementation, covering all levels - from strategic planning and training of education managers to work with schools.

We are grateful to all our partners who are involved in the implementation of the school meals reform. We believe that healthy nutrition is an investment in the healthy future of Ukraine!