Five more "kitchen factories" for children will open in Ukraine
Vinnytsia, Vyshneve, Sheptytskyi, Lebedyn, and Zaporizhzhia have signed memorandums of understanding regarding the construction of five new central kitchens for educational institutions. According to preliminary estimates, these facilities will be able to provide meals to approximately 181 schools and preschools, particularly in small and rural communities. The projects will be implemented with support from the European Investment Bank.
Ukraine plans to expand its network of central kitchens that will prepare meals for schoolchildren and preschoolers. New facilities are set to open in Vinnytsia, Vyshneve in the Kyiv region, Sheptytskyi in the Lviv region, Lebedyn in the Sumy region, and Zaporizhzhia. Memoranda regarding the new projects were signed on September 25. According to Minister of Education and Science Andriy Butenko, these projects were selected through a competitive process with the support of the European Investment Bank.
It is preliminarily expected that the new central kitchens will be able to provide meals to approximately 181 educational institutions. This includes not only large urban schools but also smaller schools and kindergartens, particularly in rural areas. The idea behind the central kitchens is that food is prepared centrally in a large, modern facility and then delivered to schools and kindergartens. This is particularly convenient for communities where it is not feasible to set up a full-fledged kitchen in every individual institution.
The total projected capacity of the five new central kitchens will be approximately 65,000 meals per day. To ensure their operation, school cafeterias will also need to be modernized, and a system for delivering prepared meals will need to be organized.
Why Are These Food Processing Plants Needed?
Andriy Butenko emphasizes that the school meal reform is not just about the meals themselves. It’s also about children’s health and shaping their eating habits. “It’s important that every child, regardless of where they live, has access to a nutritious hot meal,” the minister noted.
According to him, for small and rural schools, where it is difficult to set up their own kitchens, a central kitchen can be a practical solution. A single such kitchen can prepare meals for a large number of schools at once. “For small and rural schools, where it is difficult to set up their own kitchens, central kitchens can also be an effective solution. At the same time, this model allows communities to ensure consistent meal quality across the entire network of educational institutions,” Butenko said. Currently, central kitchens are already operating in Bucha in the Kyiv region and Lozova in the Kharkiv region. Another project is being implemented in Izmail in the Odesa region.
What the New System Will Look Like
Butenko also visited the central kitchen in Bucha. It demonstrates how such a system can work in practice: food is prepared centrally, after which the ready-to-serve meals are delivered to educational institutions. This makes it possible to operate according to uniform standards and control the quality of food preparation. At the same time, it is important that ingredients and prepared meals are stored properly, transported on time, and served to the children.
That is why modernization is needed not only at the factory itself. School cafeterias that will receive the prepared meals will also need to be upgraded. “It’s important not only to prepare a high-quality lunch but also to deliver it on time, store it properly, and serve it to the children,” Butenko explained. According to him, the Ministry of Education and Science is primarily allocating the grant to renovate school cafeterias that will operate within the network of central kitchens.
Where exactly will the new facilities be located?
New central kitchens are planned for five cities: Vyshneve in the Kyiv region and Lebedyn in the Sumy region, as well as in Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, and Sheptytskyi in the Lviv region. Details about the scale of the project in Sheptytskyi are already known. There, the central kitchen is expected to provide meals for about 10,000 children. The project also includes the modernization of 40 school cafeterias and the creation of a delivery system for prepared meals.
The Ministry of Recovery, Infrastructure, and Transport notes that the new projects are scheduled for completion in 2027. Thus, these central kitchens are set to become part of a new food service system in schools and kindergartens. Their main goal is to provide children with access to hot meals regardless of whether a particular school has its own large kitchen.
Ukraine plans to build five new central kitchens to prepare meals for schoolchildren. The prepared meals will be delivered directly to educational institutions.
