Dishes are not only undersalted, but sometimes just disgusting: parents complain about the food at Lyceum №40

Parents of students of Mykolaiv Lyceum №40 complain about the quality of school meals and expensive snacks in the cafeteria. According to them, some of the dishes brought in lunchboxes have an unattractive appearance and taste, which often leaves children hungry.

This was reported by Korabelov.info.

One of the mothers said that her child returns most of the dishes: the drinks are unsweetened, and some of the food has an unattractive appearance and taste.

The lyceum explains that the water outages are caused by the repair of the canteen, during which the risers are temporarily blocked. The work is scheduled to be completed at the end of November, after which the problem is expected to be fixed.

«The children were taken out to study full-time, and there is no water or proper food at school. My child does not want to eat what is brought in boxes. The drinks are unsweetened, and the dishes are not only unsalted, but sometimes just disgusting (both in appearance and taste). In order not to go hungry, we could buy something in the school cafeteria, but the prices there are like in the Verkhovna Rada! A sausage in dough costs 35 hryvnias, a small pizza — 45 hryvnias. How much money do you need for a month?» says one of the mothers.

Catering is currently providing meals: breakfasts are prepared at school №1 and delivered in lunchboxes at 07:30. After the renovation is completed, the lyceum will switch to its own cooking and will also provide meals to neighbouring schools.

«The lyceum has water (technical water, like the rest of the city). It just happens that sometimes the risers are blocked due to the overhaul of the school canteen. The repairs should be completed by the end of November, and there will be no problems. As for the food, we have catering now (food is prepared in the basic kitchen of the first school and delivered to us in lunchboxes). And after the canteen is renovated, we will be cooking ourselves — we will be a hub school, that is, the basic point of cooking for both our students and neighbouring educational institutions,» says Viktoriia Senkevych.

According to the principal, Viktoriia Senkevych, some children do not eat certain menu items. About 30 per cent of pupils refuse certain dishes, most of all vegetable salads that are repeated. Meat dishes, fruit, cocoa and tea are usually well received by children. Some of the cereals are sometimes unsuccessful.

«Yes, there are some nutritional problems. Approximately 30% of children do not eat some of those dishes. But not all of them, just the ones they don't like. There are some questions about vegetables, and we have a problem with salads: these carrots and cabbage are a bit boring. Why can't we have cucumbers and tomatoes more often? Once we had stewed aubergines, and all the children loved it... When meat is brought (for example, chicken breast), they like it; bread with butter and cheese, apples, bananas, grapes — everyone eats it. They like cocoa and linden tea. Boiled eggs, vermicelli (pasta) are fine. But porridge can be bad... By the way, these are not lunches, they are breakfasts. At 07:30, they arrive and we immediately distribute them to the classrooms so that the children can eat something warm,» said the lyceum director.

The lyceum says that it informs the city authorities about the shortcomings in the menu, but the promised update has not yet been implemented. In addition, despite the remarks, some students ask for a supplement, and unopened lunchboxes are given to those who want an extra portion.

«I have repeatedly reported the shortcomings of baby food to the city council. The situation is gradually improving, although they have started adding oil to the dishes. Unfortunately, there are still many questions about the menu. Every week they say the menu will change. But when will it happen? We are all waiting. The food leftovers are small. Because there is a menu for the week, known in advance. And every day, a survey is conducted among the parents of the students to find out who will be eating tomorrow — some of them refuse if there is something on the menu that they don't like. And then we don't order for them that day. In such cases, parents bring some snacks from home for their children. So, we can't say that everything is bad with the food. Some children even ask for a supplement. And if someone did not touch their food, did not even open it, we can give the closed lunchbox to a child who asks for more,» said the lyceum director.

The cafeteria is supplied by the First Bakery, which delivers freshly packaged pastries (rolls with jam, cabbage, potatoes, pizzas, sausages in dough) to the school every morning at 06:30 for sale. Prices are set by the manufacturer, and unsold products are picked up the next morning. Once the canteen is up and running, the establishment plans to make its own pastries.

«We can't work with others because only a large enterprise has all the necessary certificates. And besides, if they don't buy some of the goods during the day, they pick them up the next morning, so we have no problems with that. Accordingly, the prices for baked goods are factory prices, we have no influence on them. And when our canteen is launched, we will cook and bake our own food,» summarised Viktoriia Senkevych.

Complaints about food in Mykolaiv schools

Earlier, parents of Mykolaiv schoolchildren posted complaints about free meals on social media, talking about cold dishes, undersized portions and dirty dishes.

Petro Vasheniak, the director of the municipal enterprise responsible for catering, stated that he had personally checked the situation and that the portions met the standards, while some of the dishes were simply not visible in the photos published. After that, the situation was checked by both the utility company and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, which reported that it had not received any official complaints.

This year, all students from grades 1 to 11 receive free lunches — the costs are covered by the state and the city budget.

After parents' complaints, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights sent a request to the Department of Education. In response, the city authorities set up a commission with representatives of the city council, the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, deputies and parents. Between 16 and 24 September, they inspected 13 schools and found violations: lack of hot running water, dishes with damaged enamel, lack of refrigerators and problems with food storage, as well as shortcomings in the organisation of the process and documentation.

The Ombudsman's office stated that it would monitor how the city addresses the shortcomings. Earlier, the authorities also reported that they were considering installing cameras in school canteens.