School lunches supported by the UN: the government has allocated nearly 90 million hryvnias for children in communities near the front lines
13 January 21:28
The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to allocate nearly 90 million hryvnias from the UN World Food Programme to provide meals for elementary school students in border and frontline communities during the current school year.
This was announced by Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Funding will be provided to schools in eight regions that regularly suffer the consequences of the war:
- Dnipropetrovsk
- Zaporizhzhia
- Mykolaiv
- Odesa
- Sumy
- Kharkiv
- Kherson
- Chernihiv
The funds will be transferred directly to local budgets and used within the framework of the current school meal program.
These are funds that the Ministry of Education and Science has allocated to implement the school meal reform launched under the patronage of First Lady Olena Zelenska.
According to Lisovyi, this decision is of particular importance for schools operating in challenging security conditions, where the consistent provision of meals for children often depends on external support.
What the reform entails
The school meal reform includes:
- modernization of school kitchens,
- staff training,
- expanding the free meal program.
The goal is to provide hot lunches to students in grades 1–11 in all regions of Ukraine starting in 2026.
The government continues to fund the reform with the support of international partners, the Ministry of Education and Science emphasizes, to ensure that children’s basic needs remain met even during wartime.
According to government plans, starting in September 2026, all students in grades 1–11 across the country are to receive free meals, regardless of where they live.
