The Department of Education is looking for a contractor to provide meals for children in Mykolaiv’s nurseries until October for ₴69 million

Updated. A comment has been added from Vitalii Lukov, Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv, regarding the sources of funding for meals in nurseries and the city’s future plans.

Children at the table during mealtime. Illustrative photo: Znaimo

A tender has been announced in Mykolaiv for the provision of meals in the city’s nurseries until October 2026. The estimated cost of the service is 69.1 million hryvnias.

This is evidenced by data from the ProZorro public procurement system, according to NikVesti.

As is known, Mykolaiv’s budget is short of almost 150 million hryvnias to provide meals for children in schools, nurseries and vocational colleges until the end of 2026. The city council’s education department has stated that funds for meals in kindergartens may only last until 20 June.

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Despite this, the Education Department has announced a tender for catering services in kindergartens for the period from 29 June to 23 October 2026. The estimated cost of the contract is 69.1 million hryvnias.

The documentation states that funding will be provided from the local budget.

Meal services are planned to be provided in 44 pre-school education establishments in Mykolaiv.

The money for catering in nurseries was found thanks to savings in schools, said Vitaliy Lukov, Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv, in a comment to NikVesti. He explained that after reviewing expenditure, it became clear that some of the funds earmarked for school meals could be redirected to pre-school education.

«We found this money within the education sector. These are funds for school meals that we managed to save. We cannot accurately predict how many children will be eating there, because children come and go,» said Vitalii Lukov.

However, he explained, this money will only last until the end of October.

The city council does not yet know what will happen with school meals at the end of the year. They are hoping to receive additional support from the state.

«We are now seeking state assistance. This is a war, so we have to find a way out of the situation. For now, we have found this option,» said Vitalii Lukov.

As a reminder, according to the Department of Education’s estimates, the city will need a further 150 million hryvnias by the end of the year: over 109 million hryvnias for kindergartens, over 33 million hryvnias for co-funding school meals, and a further 7 million hryvnias for special schools and vocational education institutions.

At the same time, the city council acknowledges that there are no such funds in the budget. As a result, the city has prepared an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers requesting an additional state subsidy.