More than ₴80 million is needed for school meals in Mykolaiv’s nurseries by the end of the year
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- Yuliia BoichenkoReporter
Children sitting at the table during mealtimes. Illustrative photo: ZnaimoA total of 80 million 607 thousand hryvnias is required for school meals in Mykolaiv’s nurseries by the end of 2026.
This was revealed during a city council meeting today, 9 July, according to NikVesti.
In response to a question from the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, about how much money is needed to provide meals in the city’s kindergartens until the end of 2026, the head of the education department, Hanna Lychko, replied that 80 million 607 thousand hryvnias were required.
«So, the amount we are currently allocating (60 million hryvnias, — note) is not enough to cover all the necessary costs for meals?» asked Oleksandr Sienkevych.
«Yes,» replied Hanna Lychko.
As a reminder, the Executive Committee has agreed to submit amendments to the budget for consideration by the City Council. This concerns 60 million hryvnias for meals in the city’s nurseries. This money should last until October.
Prior to this, at a staff meeting at the city hall on 6 July, the head of the education department reported that funding for meals in kindergartens was available until 8 July. The city council session was convened for 9 July.
Budget shortfall
It should be recalled that at the session of the Mykolaiv City Council on 28 May, it was reported that by the end of 2026, the city would be short of almost 150 million hryvnias for children’s meals in educational institutions. Of this amount, over 109 million hryvnias are required 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 time, city councillors appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada, requesting that additional funding be allocated to Mykolaiv from the state budget.
In June, the Executive Committee of the Mykolaiv City Council reallocated 864,500 hryvnias for meals in nurseries. At the time, the city council noted that these funds would only last until the end of the summer, after which the city council would seek additional funding. There is currently a shortfall of 60 million hryvnias required to finalise the contract for meals in kindergartens.
At the end of June, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine refused Mykolaiv’s request for 150 million hryvnias to organise meals in educational institutions. The ministry explained that these expenditure items for nurseries and vocational education institutions should be funded from the local authority budget, and also highlighted the growth in the city’s budget revenue.
On 1 July, the Government allocated a grant of 187.5 million hryvnias to fund school meals for pupils in the Mykolaiv region between September and November 2026.
Earlier, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that Mykolaiv’s budget for 2026 is a «survival budget» and does not cover all the community’s needs. According to him, the city lacks the funds to implement the state-initiated pay rise for teachers, pay for utilities, repair roads and cover other expenditure.
Back at the start of the year, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that the Ministry of Finance would analyse Mykolaiv’s financial situation to assess the city’s need for additional funding. At the same time, he emphasised that the final decision depends not only on the Ministry of Finance’s calculations, but also on the political will of parliament.
