First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska met with Swiss Federal Council Delegate for Ukraine Jacques Gerber.
The main focus of the meeting was the reform of the school nutrition system – one of the First Lady’s key initiatives.
Olena Zelenska expressed her gratitude to the Embassy of Switzerland and the Swiss-Ukrainian projects DECIDE and “Act for Health,” which were among the first international partners to support the reform.
Through joint efforts, the Znaimo portal was created – a platform containing information on the reform’s implementation for all target groups. In addition, webinars and online courses for educators and administrators were launched, and a recipe collection for educational institutions was published by chef Yevhen Klopotenko.
The First Lady also provided an update on the reform’s progress. Last fall, the President of Ukraine announced the launch of a free school meals program for primary school students. An expansion of the initiative is planned for September this year.
“The main challenges, especially considering the program’s expansion, remain infrastructure and staffing. As of now, only 20% of kitchens and dining areas in the country meet modern standards. Today, 17 training and practice centers are already operating to train school cooks, six of which were created with Swiss support. The goal is to establish at least 60 such centers,” Olena Zelenska said.
The First Lady expressed hope that, with the support of Swiss partners, these plans will be successfully realized.