Published on: 2026-06-26
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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26 June 2026 Humanitarian aid
For hundreds of thousands of children living in the frontline areas of Ukraine, the school bell today means not only the start of lessons. For many, it is also an opportunity to receive a hot, full meal.
Memorandum on cooperation between the UN and Ukraine
At the field near the city of Gdańsk, Poland, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine signed a memorandum of cooperation for the 2026–2027 academic year, extending the school feeding program for hundreds of thousands of young residents of the country. Last school year, thanks to this initiative, nearly 275 thousand children in the country’s frontline areas received 40 million free hot lunches.
Balanced nutrition
Despite the full-scale war, Ukraine continues to reform the school meal system. This initiative, started by the country’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, is aimed not only at ensuring children receive free meals, but also at improving their quality in accordance with modern healthy eating standards.
In the new academic year, the World Food Programme will continue to support 2,500 primary schools in the eight frontline regions of Ukraine – Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
In addition, for the first time, 90 kindergartens in the Chernihiv region are joining the program, where free meals will be able to be received by about four thousand more children.
Education during wartime
The First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Yevhen Kudryavets, noted that quality education remains one of the country’s main priorities even in conditions of full-scale war. According to him, the modernization of school meals is an important part of these efforts.
“We are grateful to all our international partners, especially the United Nations World Food Programme, for supporting this work that helps Ukrainian children receive adequate nutrition and study in comfortable conditions, despite the ongoing war,” he said.
Investment in the future
According to the director of the Ukrainian branch of the UN World Food Programme, Richard Reygan, today the school has become a place for many children who have survived forced displacement and the trauma of war, where they can feel safe.
“Each of us has dreams and hopes, and there is no better investment in the restoration of Ukraine than giving an entire generation of children the opportunity to simultaneously learn and receive full nutrition,” he emphasized.
Equipment for the school kitchen
Assistance is not limited to the supply of products. Over the past year, nearly 300 schools have received modern energy-efficient kitchen equipment – electric stoves, convection steamers, and food boilers. Another 79 schools have been provided with fuel cards for generators and transport so that school kitchens can operate even during winter power outages.
Special attention is also paid to those who cook daily for children. From July to November of this year, VPP, together with the Ukrainian authorities, plans to train about 1200 school cooks in preparing healthy and balanced dishes, as well as working with new equipment.
More than food
The project is being implemented with the support of the governments of France, Sweden, Finland, and Ireland, as well as the Bestseller Foundation.
During wartime, a hot school lunch is much more than just food. For many families, it is additional support, and for children, it is an opportunity to concentrate on studies, communicate with peers, and briefly feel the usual rhythm of life.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims, and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.