It is impossible to organise school meals in seven frontline communities in the Mykolaiv region

School meals. Illustrative photo by NikVesti

In the de-occupied communities of the Mykolaiv region, work continues on rebuilding destroyed schools. However, not all of them are able to provide pupils with hot meals. Kitchen facilities were not included in the reconstruction plans.

This was reported by Alla Velikhovska, Director of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s Department of Education, at a briefing on 12 March, according to NikVesti.

At a briefing on the modernisation of the school catering system in Mykolaiv Oblast, Alla Velikhovska noted that 63,807 pupils are fed in the region’s general education institutions. Of these, 32,530 are eligible for subsidies.

Alla Velykhovska, Director of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s Department of Education, and Dmytro Havryliak, Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s Digital Transformation Department. Photo: NikVesti

In 45 communities across the region — a majority, accounting for 87% — pupils are provided with a single hot meal. One portion of food must cost at least 50 hryvnias. However, communities may allocate more funds for school meals.

However, there are communities where it is not yet possible to provide children with hot meals. They did not include catering facilities in their reconstruction plans.

«Seven communities currently lack such facilities. These are the frontline communities that were under occupation, where buildings have been destroyed. The facilities that have been rebuilt were reconstructed in the standard way. That is, donors provided their own designs and carried out the construction themselves. No catering facilities were included in those plans. Each community is now resolving these issues on its own,» said Alla Velikhovska.

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Communities have agreed with parents that in schools where hot meals cannot be provided to children, pupils should spend less than four hours there.

As a reminder, 40 communities in the Mykolaiv region have joined the school meals quality control project. Complaints about school meals in four schools can already be made to the AI assistant «Khvylka».

On 9 December, NikVesti showed how, in some schools in Mykolaiv, meals for pupils were being prepared by private companies, notably ‘Prosecco 8’, which had been awarded a contract by the municipal enterprise. Parents reported that the children did not receive breakfast on Monday, and food was only delivered after lunch. The video showed company staff cooking porridge right under a tent on the street in the rain.

Vitalii Kim, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, responded to the incident. Following this, the Main Directorate of the National Police in Mykolaiv Region opened a criminal investigation into the violation of food preparation regulations for pupils.

It was only in the evening that the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, responded to the video, calling the situation unacceptable and initiating an investigation. City councillor Tetiana Dombrovska described the scandal as a failure of the authorities and called for the dismissal of Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov and KOP Director Petro Vasheniak. Due to indications of violations in the area of public procurement, the State Audit Service has launched an investigation into the procurement of catering services for schools.

It is known that a private contractor was selected following criticism of the quality of school meals. In late November, the KOP selected «Prossecco 8» to cater for some schools in December. During the open tender, the company was the sole participant and winner, with the cost of services amounting to 14,279,658 hryvnias.

According to YouControl, Prossecco 8 LLC was registered in Mykolaiv in 2023 with a capital of 1,000 hryvnias. The company is involved in catering, sports equipment hire, and the provision of sports facilities and hairdressing services. The owner is Iryna Stoieva, who is also linked to BBV 2021 LLC. Her activities there were the subject of a court ruling in 2023 due to breaches of alcohol and cigarette accounting regulations.

Earlier, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych explained that the catering business would be inspected over the course of a month. At a press conference, he noted that the contractor’s violations had been known as early as 8 December, but the incident had not been publicly addressed due to the municipal forum. Stoieva, director of «Prossecco 8», attributed the disruptions to power supply issues: the generator failed to start, and the equipment broke down. Furthermore, the chef breached hygiene standards by leaving a thermal box open in the open air — he has already been penalised.

Catering for schoolchildren in Mykolaiv

On 9 December, NikVesti showed how private companies, including ‘Prosecco 8’, which had been awarded a contract by the municipal enterprise, were preparing meals for pupils in some schools in Mykolaiv. Parents reported that the children did not receive breakfast on Monday, and food was only delivered after lunch. The video showed company staff cooking porridge right under a tent on the street in the rain.

Vitalii Kim, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, responded to the incident. Following this, the Main Directorate of the National Police in Mykolaiv Region opened a criminal investigation into the violation of food preparation regulations for pupils.

It was only in the evening that the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, responded to the video, calling the situation unacceptable and initiating an investigation. City councillor Tetiana Dombrovska described the scandal as a failure of the authorities and called for the dismissal of Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov and KOP Director Petro Vasheniak. Due to indications of violations in the area of public procurement, the State Audit Service has launched an investigation into the procurement of catering services for schools.

It is known that a private contractor was selected following criticism of the quality of school meals. In late November, the KOP selected Prosсecco 8’ to cater for some schools in December. During the open tender, the company was the sole participant and winner, with the cost of services amounting to 14,279,658 hryvnias.

According to YouControl, Prosseссo 8 LLC was registered in Mykolaiv in 2023 with a capital of 1,000 hryvnias. The company is involved in catering, sports equipment hire, and the provision of sports facilities and hairdressing services. The owner is Iryna Stoieva, who is also linked to BBV 2021 LLC. Her activities there were the subject of a court ruling in 2023 due to breaches of alcohol and cigarette accounting regulations.

Earlier, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych explained that the catering business would be inspected over the course of a month. At a press conference, he noted that the contractor’s violations had been known as early as 8 December, but the incident had not been publicly addressed due to the municipal forum. Stoieva, the director of «Prossecco 8», attributed the malfunctions to power supply issues: the generator failed to start, and the equipment broke down. Furthermore, the chef breached hygiene standards by leaving a thermal box open in the open air — he has already been penalised.