Children don't like it: 3,337 schoolchildren refused free hot meals in Mykolaiv

Two weeks after the start of the school year in Mykolaiv, 3,337 students refused free hot meals at schools. During a briefing, the head of the city education department Anna Lychko noted that this is 14% of children.

In total, free meals cover 20,983 children in city educational institutions. The service is provided by the Municipal Production Enterprise for the Organization of Catering in Educational Institutions.

Distribution of pupils covered by free meals by age groups:

• 7,961 pupils in grades 1–4;
• 13,022 pupils in grades 5–11.

Among those who refused school meals, middle and high school students also predominate:

• 1,013 students in lower grades;
• 2,324 middle and high school students.

Anna Lychko explained the refusals by saying that children do not like the food offered. At the same time, the dishes are prepared according to approved standards.

Questions, comments and suggestions about pupils’ meals can be sent via the chat-bot “Khvylka”.

Earlier we wrote:

• Mykolaiv prepared a seasonal four-week menu for schoolchildren
• School meals in Korabelny: “trouble with salads”, who gets extra portions, “prices like in the Verkhovna Rada”
• School food that children throw away: who will be responsible for the waste?
• In the Mykolaiv region, more than 40 schools post daily photos of meals on Khvylka
• The first complaints to the bot about school food have already been received: what’s happening in the region’s schools