Wife of the President of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and philanthropist Howard Buffet opened the construction of Ukraine's first kitchen factory in Bucha. The project of the second such enterprise was approved for the city of Lozova, Kharkiv region.
The first scoop of soil at the construction site was lifted personally by Howard Buffett, the patron of the project, on an excavator. Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba, Acting Head of the Kyiv RSA Dmytro Nazarenko, mayor of Bucha Anatolii Fedoruk, co-founder of the NGO "National Public Catering Association" Orest Stepaniak also attended the event.
The kitchen factory project is part of the reform of school meals initiated by First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and started in 2022. In its framework, together with the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, three options for the organization of school meals were developed:
1. Full cycle kitchen (in educational institutions where there is economic feasibility and technical and technological possibility, everything is cooked on site from scratch).
2. Hub kitchens (food is transported from one powerful kitchen to neighboring schools).
3. Factory kitchen (a large volume of supply, a separate building in which food is cooked, shock freezed and transported to many schools).
Such a kitchen factory can prepare 10,000 portions. In this way, water and electricity costs are saved. And the supply of food to children becomes systematized, safe and of high quality.
It is expected that the kitchen factory in Bucha will provide food at once to three communities (Bucha, Nemishaieve and Borodyanka), where several dozen educational institutions are located. Production capacity can be reconfigured or expanded to meet the nutritional needs of any groups of population. In particular, the enterprise will be able to feed temporarily displaced persons and local residents.
"For our country and the whole world, Bucha is a place of Russian crimes, but, along with this dramatic memory, we want it to continue to live as a normal, happy city, to become more comfortable, we want children to play on these streets. We want them to go to school and grow up here. We want this city to be what it was intended to be: native, beloved, a place of strength for thousands of people. So that residents don't lose it, but appreciate it even more," said Olena Zelenska during the construction launch.
She emphasized that the kitchen factory was the beginning of a return to the school meal reform project, the implementation of which was interrupted by the Russian attack.
"Thanks to the kitchen, we returned to the reform of school meals, which was interrupted by the Russian invasion. We realized that the idea of feeding children qualitatively and nutritiously in wartime becomes even more difficult to implement, yet even more important. Because our children and our teachers demonstrated true heroism. They did not interrupt their studies. Therefore, it is our desire to support children and teachers, in particular, with food which determines the quality of education," Olena Zelenska emphasized.
During the launch of the construction, the expansion of the initiative also took place: the project of the second such factory, which will be built in the city of Lozova, Kharkiv region, was presented. A corresponding memorandum was signed. On behalf of Ukraine, it was signed by Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, and Serhiy Zelenskyy, mayor of Lozova.
On March 28, at the session of the Kharkiv City Council, a decision was made to allocate a land plot with an area of 1.5 hectares, budgeting and design of the facility began. It is expected that the kitchen factory in Lozova will supply food to 89 schools and preschool institutions of the Lozova territorial community.
"The kitchen factory project is not only about food. It's about joint action. About support that has no borders and territorial restrictions. It is about help and interaction in a broad sense, because kitchens are also jobs and economic revitalization these areas strongly need. In short, kitchens are projects about life and the energy it needs. This is the production of not only calories, but also hopes and energy for children and adults," the President's wife stressed.
The First Lady thanked the local authorities, Orest Stepaniak's team for implementing the project, and Howard Buffett's team for their love for Ukraine, faith in it and its children.