The Hotuimo central kitchen, together with the education department, the city council and schools of the Bucha community, is looking for ways to feed children even when lessons move to shelters. Because of air raid alerts, pupils do not always manage to have lunch.

This was reported by the Hotuimo central kitchen and Bucha City Council.

Where meals in shelters can be organised safely, they are already served. Some village schools in the community have this experience: they have fewer pupils, so the process is easier to set up.

In some schools, children in after-school groups also eat in shelters. Lunch boxes are used for this.

A lunch box with a meal. Illustrative photoPhoto: Hay Kranen / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
A lunch box with a meal. Illustrative photo
A hot lunch from the Hotuimo central kitchen at a school in the Bucha communityPhoto: Hotuimo central kitchen
A hot lunch from the Hotuimo central kitchen at a school in the Bucha community

In Bucha’s large schools this is harder to organise for every pupil. The number of children has to be taken into account, as well as whether food can be prepared, delivered and handed out.

We also have to look after the staff, because setting out lunches outside the shelter during an alert puts them in danger.

Hotuimo central kitchenmunicipal enterprise of the Bucha community

Hot meals remain the priority. At the same time, food packs are being considered as a back-up for schools where long alerts prevent children from getting a hot lunch.

The decision on this format will be made at community level. The kitchen will help agree the contents of the packs in line with Appendix 16 to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 305 on meals in educational institutions.

A pupil with lunch in a school canteen in the Bucha communityPhoto: Hotuimo central kitchen
A pupil with lunch in a school canteen in the Bucha community

Parents will be told about specific changes separately, the city council and the kitchen said.

As a reminder, more than 200,000 schoolchildren in Kyiv region get hot lunches, and during alerts such meals have been arranged for over 120,000.

Nota bene

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