Ukraine received €150 million from the EU: part of the funds will be spent on school meals

The EU has allocated 150 million euros to Ukraine: the funds will go to schools, infrastructure and the agricultural sector. Photo: archive NikVesti

The European Union has allocated 150 million euros to Ukraine, part of the funds will be directed to free school meals for children in grades 1-4.

This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, this is the second tranche from the EU within the framework of the agreement to support rapid recovery, which provides for the provision of 300 million euros.

In addition to feeding children, the funds will also be used to restore infrastructure and support uninterrupted agricultural production.

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Nutrition of children in schools and kindergartens of the Mykolaiv region

The state budget has allocated 31.1 million hryvnias for free meals for primary school students in schools in the Mykolaiv region. These funds will be given in the form of a subvention to 42 territorial communities in the region.

In particular, free meals will be provided to school students and kindergarten students in Ochakiv throughout 2025.

And in schools in Mykolaiv, free meals began on December 11. No more than 70% of the cost will be compensated by the state budget, as well as the local budget.

At the same time, from January 1, 2025, the cost of meals will increase in kindergartens and schools in Mykolaiv. The last time members of the executive committee increased the cost of meals in educational institutions of the city was in April 2023. Comparing these new changes with the previous ones, it can be noted that the increase in the cost of meals ranges from 15% to 35%.

The Department of Education of the Mykolaiv City Council is looking for a company that will organize meals in the city's educational institutions throughout 2025. They plan to spend 166 million 915 thousand hryvnias on feeding children next year. However, this amount may be less if participants offer a lower cost for the service.

At a meeting of the city commission, Mykolaiv City Council deputy Dmytro Sichko said that many children in the city refuse to eat dishes prepared according to the new menu developed by Yevhen Klopotenko. According to him, children do not eat the dishes because they do not contain enough salt, sugar and oil, which makes the food tasteless.

After that, Tetiana Dombrovska, a deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council from the Servant of the People party, responded to her colleague's statement. In a comment, she stated that she would like to personally check the quality of food in the school cafeterias of Mykolaiv.