As part of the school nutrition reform, 10 more culinary hubs are to be established in Ukraine by the end of the year
4 November 2024 19:08
A special state subvention provides for the creation of 10 culinary hubs as part of the school nutrition reform. This was announced during a meeting chaired by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk.
Culinary hubs are training centers for school canteen cooks. They are created on the basis of vocational education institutions. Students majoring in cooking are trained there, as well as retrained school canteen workers.
The state subvention provides for the allocation of funds for the establishment of culinary hubs in the following regions
– one hub each in Dnipropetrovs’k, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions;
– two hubs in Khmelnytsky region.
What is known about the creation of culinary hubs
The project to create training centers for school caterers is being implemented as part of the school catering reform strategy initiated by First Lady Olena Zelenska with the support of Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine. Among the NGOs involved in the project is the National Association of Public Catering. According to its information, there are currently 8 culinary hubs in Ukraine. The nearest plans are to open 60 more new hubs on the basis of vocational schools.
However, as the National Association of Public Catering emphasizes, there is currently a significant funding shortfall for this initiative. Each hub requires between $92,000 and $306,000 to set up, as well as funds for retraining cooks. Civil society activists have called on international partners to support educational initiatives, as such contributions will help ensure quality school meals for Ukrainian children.
