As part of the school nutrition reform initiated by First Lady Olena Zelenska, 10 specialized culinary hubs will be established in Ukraine by the end of the year. This will be a crucial step toward improving the quality of school meals and training and retraining staff for school cafeterias.
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This was announced following a meeting chaired by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, regional and Kyiv city military administrations, and educational institutions.
What are culinary hubs?
Culinary hubs are specialized centers for training school cafeteria chefs. They will be based at vocational education institutions, where students will receive professional training in the specialty “Cook.” In addition, these hubs will provide retraining programs for existing school cafeteria workers, which will help enhance the professionalism of kitchen staff and, consequently, improve the quality of meals served to students.
Culinary hubs will also play a key role in implementing modern school nutrition standards, ensuring that menus are healthy, diverse, and meet the needs of children in the context of contemporary challenges.
Where will the culinary hubs be established?
To implement this project, state funding has been allocated for the creation of culinary hubs in various regions of Ukraine. Specifically, the hubs will be established in the following areas:
- One hub in each of the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Cherkasy regions.
- Two hubs in the Khmelnytskyi region.
This will create a network of modern training centers across the country, where future chefs and school cafeteria staff will receive high-quality education, which will, in turn, improve the overall quality of school nutrition.
Prospects for the reform
The school nutrition reform, which is being implemented under the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska, is a significant part of the systemic changes aimed at improving the health and well-being of students. The creation of culinary hubs is just one element of this reform, which aims to ensure proper training for school cafeteria workers, introduce new nutrition standards, and reduce food-related risks for children.
It is expected that by the end of 2024, the reform will significantly improve the quality of school meals and provide the necessary resources for training qualified specialists in the field of school nutrition.
