In early October 2024, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine announced a new initiative: students in grades 1-4 in public schools will receive free lunches. The subvention is one of the steps in the school catering reform.
‘School lunch is an important element of caring for the well-being of children in the context of Russian aggression, it lays the foundation for their healthy future, and is also an element of protection for every student, regardless of whether he or she lives in a big city or a small community,’ the reform states.
At first glance, the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science to provide free meals to primary school children looks like an important social step. Everyone wants to believe that this decision will ease the financial burden on families and provide children with balanced lunches.
However, the reality is much less optimistic: the lack of funds has led to lunches of questionable quality. Instead of a balanced diet, schoolchildren receive poor quality and small portions, raising serious questions about the real consequences of this ‘generosity’. What is wrong with this new initiative?
Tempting initiative or saving money on children
At first glance, the idea of feeding primary school children for free sounds great, especially in the face of the economic difficulties faced by most families. However, the government’s good intentions hide serious flaws. The budget allocated to the programme has been insufficient to ensure that meals are of high quality.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, as of 1 September 2023, there were 1 million 397 thousand children in primary school. According to experts, calculating the cost of a school lunch at UAH 50 (as defined by the government – ed.) with a school year of at least 175 school days, we have UAH 8,750 per child. For the 2025 school year, the need for money will be UAH 11.8 billion. The draft budget for this year includes UAH 100 million of subventions and UAH 2.8 billion of funds from international partners, which have not yet been received. If we take into account all the privileged categories of meals that the government has to compensate for (kindergarteners and students with the status of children affected by war, IDPs), this need will amount to UAH 28.7 billion. The school year lasts until spring 2025, and the question of where the government will get the funds until next year remains open.
Obviously, the government is relying on the data from the last school year, without taking into account the fact that many students, due to constant displacement, were not recorded in the last year’s records. This means that the number of children and the funds allocated to communities do not match.
In fact, local authorities report that the amount allocated per pupil is so small that it is almost impossible to talk about nutritious and balanced lunches. As a result, the quality of the food is highly questionable. The products used to prepare school lunches do not meet any healthy eating standards, and the portions are clearly insufficient for a child’s energetic school day.
“The situation with school meals varies from community to community. There are hromadas that have established meals for children at the expense of the local budget. There are hromadas that are in the organisational process. For example, at the beginning of 2024, different hromadas allocated different amounts of money for child nutrition, ranging from UAH 12 to 80. Today, it is impossible to feed a child well for UAH 12-20.
We need to ensure that all children receive the same quality food. It cannot be that a child from a privileged category eats pasta with a bun in the dining room, while another child whose parents pay for his or her meals sits next to them and eats potatoes, a cutlet, a bun and compote. Therefore, it is important to work and control to ensure that the quality of lunch and its price are the same for all children who eat at school. So that there is no social injustice,’ says Iryna Borzova, chair of the Subcommittee on State Youth Policy of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Youth and Sports.
In turn, as stated in the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, all processes must comply with the Procedure for organising meals in educational institutions and children’s health and recreation facilities, as well as with HACCP safety standards. Is it really news to the officials that not all school canteens and food service units comply with all these standards? All this is very similar to the situation with the construction of shelters in educational institutions. The government does not have clear data on their availability and condition, but it makes loud claims that such shelters exist.
Cheap does not mean healthy
Healthy food in schools is one of the issues that is still being actively discussed in Ukraine. Over the past few years, the government has introduced standards that have significantly changed the approach to children’s diets in educational institutions. However, the question remains: does the menu of Ukrainian schoolchildren really comply with the principles of healthy eating, or are they just declarations on paper?
According to all experts, a healthy diet is a harmonious consumption of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, macro- and microelements, fibre and biologically active substances. The new nutritional standards for schoolchildren, which are being actively implemented by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, provide for an increase in the amount of protein, vegetables and fruit in the diet, while reducing the amount of sugar, salt and fat.
The aim of these reforms is to develop healthy habits in children of all ages. These measures will help to combat childhood obesity and reduce cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.
At first glance, all these initiatives seem quite progressive and should have been welcomed by society. However, due to a number of complications, such as the lack of adequate funding and poor training of cooks, the public reacted with a strong reaction. The purchase of low-quality products by schools, the lack of conditions for preparing the dishes on the menu, and sometimes simply the inability to cook them, led to a massive refusal to eat school lunches. As a result, children remain hungry throughout the school day. So what kind of healthy diet can we talk about when we can make children suffer from gastritis at this rate?
There are more and more complaints in schools that the meals served to students are not nutritious and often do not taste good to children. Parents fear that such savings on food can have long-term consequences for their children’s health. After all, a child’s body needs high-quality proteins, vitamins and minerals for normal development, and the lunches prepared under the new initiative often fail to meet even basic needs.
Serhiy Kolodiy, reader of FACT:
“The government, the state. They are responsible for funding. But everything else should be decided on the ground. The poor quality of food should concern not only parents, but also school administrators and teachers. As a parent, no one shows me what my children eat at school. On the contrary, they hide it and forbid me to take pictures in the dining room. Half-cold, cheap pasta sprinkled with grated cheese, sometimes a little beetroot, cabbage or carrot, and not always – that’s lunch. Eat, kids, it’s free.
Obviously, this is a waste of budget money with a negative impact on the health of children, who mostly refuse to eat it and run around the stalls for chips, crisps and sweets. Wouldn’t it be better if the state financed 50%, and parents, instead of giving money for chips, would officially pay extra to the school for children’s meals?”
Sergey Boychuk, Facebook user:
“The food they feed children is just horrible! The system itself breeds corruption. Look at how children are fed in developed countries.
In kindergartens, the Klopotenko food system was introduced, and children do not eat this food at all – it is made of low-quality products and is not tasty at all!”
Olha Boiko, mother of a student of lyceum No. 6 in Brovary
Brovary, Facebook user:
“To be honest, the scoop is still present at my son’s school.
I’d rather pay money for meals, and my son will not be hungry.
Boiled eggs, boiled unsalted fish, uncooked unsalted beetroot, no first courses at all, casseroles every day, porridge with gravy without meat.
If my child doesn’t eat this and neither do the children in his class, what is the point of cooking it?
These are your nutrition reforms.”
Tatiana Sytnyk, Facebook user:
‘If the state has allocated funds for food, where have they gone? Why is this issue not constantly monitored?’
Indeed, this is an interesting question.
That is, there is someone to implement the initiative, and then the Ministry of Education and Science washes its hands of it, and local communities are left alone with a lot of unresolved issues about how to implement this initiative, even without receiving proper funding.
Perhaps, before introducing such changes, it would be worthwhile to calculate the real costs more thoroughly and look for ways to provide not only free but also high-quality meals for schoolchildren.
How school meals are organised for students abroad
School meals abroad are either funded by the state or co-funded by parents.
The most successful programmes (such as in Finland and Japan) focus not only on providing food, but also on fostering a culture of healthy eating.
The key to the success of these systems is stable funding and food quality control.
For example, in Finland, all schoolchildren, from kindergarten to high school, receive free meals at school, which are funded by the state.
The quality of food here is very high: lunches are balanced, with an emphasis on fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and local ingredients.
The menu is developed by nutritionists and changes depending on the season.
The programme is aimed not only at feeding children, but also at fostering a culture of healthy eating.
In France, lunches for primary school students are partly funded by local authorities and partly by parents.
However, children from low-income families can receive discounted or completely free lunches.
French school lunches are known for their high level of quality and variety.
The menu consists of several dishes: a starter, main course, cheese, fruit or dessert.
Particular attention is paid to food culture, and children have the opportunity to try different dishes, including seasonal products.
In Japan, school lunches for primary school students are jointly funded by the government and parents.
Although parents pay a portion of the cost, the government subsidises a significant portion of the programme.
Lunches in Japanese schools are an example of a balanced diet: rice, fish or meat, soup and vegetables are mandatory components.
Importantly, lunches are prepared on site from fresh ingredients, and children are encouraged to take an active part in cooking and serving.
The system is also supported by an educational programme that teaches children about healthy eating habits.
In the United States, school lunches are funded at the state level through programmes such as the National School Lunch Programme (NSLP), which provides subsidised or free lunches for children from low-income families.
The quality of food varies greatly by region and by school.
There are schools that offer balanced and fresh meals, but in many places the menu includes high-calorie foods and convenience foods.
However, in recent years there has been a growing interest in improving the quality of school meals, including government efforts to promote healthy eating.
In the UK, primary school pupils in state schools are entitled to free lunches under certain conditions, especially children from low-income families.
The meals are funded by the government and local authorities.
In 2014, the government started providing free meals to all students in the first three years of schooling.
The quality of lunches has gradually improved following criticism in the early 2000s when many schools were found to be serving low-quality meals.
School lunches now focus on healthy, fresh foods with less fat and sugar.
Schools in Latvia serve a complex lunch – vegetables, potatoes, buckwheat or rice, meat or fish.
The cost of lunch in some schools for grades 1-4 is partially financed from both the municipal and state budgets, while for students in grades 5-12, lunch is free of charge at the expense of the local government.
In Germany, a balanced and varied diet is followed.
The menu is not repeated more than once a week.
Children are served seasonal vegetables, meat (twice a week) and sea fish (once a week).
The cost of lunches depends on the number of children eating in the school canteen – the more children, the lower the cost.
Part of the cost is paid for by parents, and part is allocated from the state budget. Children also bring lunch boxes from home with sandwiches, fruit and vegetables.
In contrast, schools in the Netherlands and Australia do not provide school lunches at all.
So children go home for lunch during long breaks. And there are cafes in schools where you can buy sandwiches, lemonade, tea or juice. However, the queues there are so long that it is better for children to take a lunch box with them.
Is there an alternative?
The free school meals initiative can be useful, but only if it is accompanied by adequate financial support and regular monitoring by the government. Perhaps the government should reconsider its approach and either increase funding or introduce co-financing from parents, while ensuring control over the quality of the food. After all, children’s health is not something that can be saved on.
Free meals for primary school children is a good idea, but in practice it has turned into a cost saving for children’s health. Insufficient funding and poor quality food jeopardise the main goal of the initiative: to support the health and development of the younger generation. Instead of feeding children nutritious lunches, we are feeding them with promises without offering the proper results. If the government does not find a way to rectify this situation, this initiative risks becoming yet another example of ‘free’ that will cost too much – at the cost of our children’s health.
