₴76 million is planned to spend on food in Mykolaiv kindergartens

By the end of the school year, 76 million hryvnias are planned to be spent on meals for children in preschool educational institutions in Mykolaiv.

The city council's education department has announced a tender for the provision of three meals a day in 44 kindergartens and the Mykolaiv special school for children with visual impairments.

The services are to be provided from the date of signing the contract until 30 June 2026.

Tender participants must provide a four-week seasonal menu approved by the territorial division of the State Food and Consumer Service. A separate menu must be developed for each age group.

It should be noted that on 8 January, the Department of Education signed a separate contract for the provision of meals for children in January with the Municipal Production Enterprise for the Organisation of Meals in Educational Institutions. The procurement was carried out without the use of an electronic system due to urgent need. The contract value was 14.2 million hryvnias, with a total of 86,714 days.

In particular, 4 million hryvnias are allocated for meals for children under 4 years of age in kindergartens, and 10.2 million hryvnias for children from 4 to 6 (7) years of age. For a special school for children with visual impairments, 68,000 hryvnias and 156,000 hryvnias are allocated, respectively.

This is due to the fact that on 16 December, the Municipal Production Enterprise for the Organisation of Food Services in Mykolaiv Schools unilaterally terminated its contract with Prosecco 8 LLC due to violations of the meal delivery schedule and sanitary standards.

At the same time, the education department is looking for contractors to provide catering services during the first half of the year in the city's schools and kindergartens. They plan to spend 186.6 million hryvnias on this.

Earlier it was reported that in one of the kindergartens in Mykolaiv, parents were asked to contribute 500 hryvnias for disposable tableware for feeding children in shelters during air raid alerts.

Catering for schoolchildren in Mykolaiv

On 9 December, NikVesti showed how private companies, including Prossecco 8, which received a contract from a municipal enterprise, prepared meals for students in some schools in Mykolaiv. Parents reported that their children did not receive breakfast on Monday, and food was delivered only after lunch. The video showed company employees cooking porridge under a tent on the street in the rain.

Vitalii Kim, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, responded to the incident. After that, the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region opened a criminal case for violating the rules for preparing food for students.

Only in the evening did Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych respond to the video, calling the situation unacceptable and initiating an investigation. City Council Deputy Tetiana Dombrovska called the scandal a failure of the authorities and called for the dismissal of Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov and ME Director Petro Vasheniak. Due to signs of violations in the field of public procurement, the State Audit Service began an investigation into the procurement of catering services for schools.

It is known that a private contractor was selected after criticism of the quality of school meals. At the end of November, the Municipal Procurement Service selected Prossecco 8 to supply some schools in December. During the open tender, the company was the only participant and winner, and the cost of services amounted to 14 million 279 thousand 658 hryvnias.

According to YouControl, Prossecco 8 LLC was registered in Mykolaiv in 2023 with a capital of 1,000 hryvnias. The company is engaged in catering, sports equipment rental, and the provision of sports facilities and hairdressing services. The owner is Iryna Stoieva, who is also associated with BBV 2021 LLC. Her activities there were the subject of a court ruling in 2023 due to violations of the rules for accounting for alcohol and cigarettes.

Earlier, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych explained that the catering company would be inspected within a month. At a press conference, he noted that the contractor's violations were known as early as 8 December, but the incident was not publicly addressed due to the municipal forum. Prossecco 8 director Stoieva explained the malfunctions by citing problems with the power supply: the generator failed and the equipment broke down. In addition, the chef violated sanitary standards by opening a thermobox in the open air — he has already been punished.

The Prossecco 8 case in court

On 12 December, employees of the Strategic Investigations Department of the Mykolaiv region, together with the police, conducted searches at Prosecco 8 LLC, the Department of Education and the Municipal enterprise. The searches were conducted as part of criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — appropriation or embezzlement of property on an especially large scale or committed by an organised group.

On 23 December, the suspects were served with notices of suspicion. The head of the enterprise, Iryna Stoieva, was notified of suspicion of violating sanitary rules and attempted embezzlement of large amounts of property under martial law. Petro Vasheniak was notified of suspicion of attempted embezzlement of property.

The functions of the suspended head of the Municipal Production Enterprise for the Organisation of Food Supply in Schools in Mykolaiv will be performed by his deputy. Although his lawyer stated in court that there was no one to replace him.

On 29 December, the Central District Court of Mykolaiv was to choose a preventive measure for Stoieva and Vasheniak. The prosecution insisted on arrest, but on 30 December, the hearing was postponed. From 12 to 13 January, the court considered a motion regarding a preventive measure for Vasheniak. During the hearing, more than 20 errors were found in the case materials, which led to frequent pauses for clarification. The defence submitted character references and letters of appreciation in favour of the official.

On 14 January, the court arrested Petro Vasheniak with the possibility of bail set at 242,240 hryvnias, and the next day, 15 January, Iryna Stoieva. In court, Stoieva stated that she plans to demand reimbursement of the funds that the company spent on organising meals in schools in Mykolaiv.

Bail for both defendants was posted on the same day the court issued its ruling: Vasheniak on 14 January and Stoieva on 15 January.