An additional 7.4 billion hryvnia was allocated to local communities for school meals
The government has allocated more than 7.4 billion hryvnias in additional funds to local budgets to provide free meals for schoolchildren, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced.
The allocated funding is intended to help communities make the necessary purchases in a timely manner and prepare the meal service system before the start of the school year on September 1.
In addition, the government has updated the procedures for organizing school meals to eliminate bureaucratic restrictions and expand opportunities for communities, allowing them to organize the process not only in school cafeterias, provided that sanitary standards, quality, and safety are maintained.
In total, the 2026 state budget allocates 14.4 billion hryvnias for free school meals. The expansion of this program is part of the strategy to reform the school meal system by 2027, which is being implemented at the initiative of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska.
This was announced by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
It was previously reported that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine had canceled the 50 percent discount on meals for children in kindergartens for large families. Now they will have to pay 800 hryvnias more per child each month.
As a reminder, on August 20, the Verkhovna Rada amended the law “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025” regarding financial support for the security and defense sector and addressing priority issues. Funds were allocated, in particular, for meals for students in grades 1–4 in all regions and for students in grades 5–11 in frontline areas.
