The First Lady of Ukraine inspected how the kitchen factory in Bucha works and feeds schoolchildren. The factory was opened on the initiative of Olena Zelenska and with the investment support of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
“It is an amazing feeling to go through all the phases of implementation and growth with this unique enterprise: from the idea and finding a construction site in the summer of 2022 in the still-destroyed Bucha, and the first symbolic bucket of earth at its construction, to the opening in December 2023. It feels like this project has not only given Bucha a new lease of life, but has also contributed to social resilience,” the First Lady said.
The kitchen factory serves 13 schools (more than 4,000 children) in the Bucha community.
In addition, during her trip to the Kyiv region, Olena Zelenska, together with representatives of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv Regional Military Administrations, the mayors of Bucha, Slavutych and Vyshneve, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Science and the head of the School Nutrition Reform team, visited the Synyak and Bucha lyceums. There, they were able to see how boxes of ready-to-eat lunches are unloaded and heated using special Cook and Chill technology. This helps to preserve the quality and nutritional value of the products. The main advantage of this technology is the intensive cooling, which significantly extends the shelf life of the food.
“The students who ate lunch with us today will soon be leaving for summer vacation, just like all the others. And here I would like to appeal to their adults: please do not forget that the goal of the School Nutrition Reform is to establish healthy eating habits for life. Therefore, what and how children eat at home is important,” the President's wife said.
The kitchen factory and the School Nutrition Reform team plan to connect three more schools in the Bucha community, four schools in the Nemishajeve community and 13 schools in the Borodyanka community to the factory starting September 1. In the 2024/25 school year, the Gotuimo factory kitchen will provide free hot meals to 11,275 children.