In 2025, free one-time meals will be provided for students in grades 1-4, similar to the arrangement that started in October of this year. This initiative is funded by the European Union, which allocated 150 million euros. By the end of the academic year, there will be 65 million euros remaining in the budget.
This was shared by Andriy Stashkiv, the Deputy Minister of Education and Science, during a broadcast of the national telethon "Unified News."
"As in 2024, the funds from the subsidy will ensure free meals for primary school students in 2025. The plan is to provide one-time meals specifically for those students who are studying in-person or in a mixed format. Currently, this includes over one million children attending schools.
At present, we have 65 million euros from the 150 million euros allocated by the EU. These funds are intended to last until the end of the academic year. Starting from September 1, 2025, which marks the beginning of the next academic year, we will be looking for additional resources to continue this initiative and provide free meals for primary school students…
This involves nearly one million children and 10,000 schools that are organizing this free meal service…
Since free meals are mandatory, it is crucial to understand that while we can track the use of funds and organization, we cannot monitor the quality of the meals," said Andriy Stashkiv.