The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the distribution of subventions from the state to local budgets for arranging school canteens through the DREAM ecosystem. 159 projects were selected, with a total cost of UAH 1.5 billion.
These funds will significantly support communities in implementing the school nutrition reform initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, in 2020.
Applications for a state subvention to purchase equipment and modernize canteens in general secondary education institutions were submitted through the DREAM ecosystem. This enabled the automatic generation of a ranking list of projects by calculating their priority according to a scoring system.
The projects were selected on a competitive basis following the Procedure approved by the Government. A commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES), which involved independent experts, assessed compliance with the requirements and criteria. Representatives of regional military administrations and territorial communities participated in the final selection of project applications during the commission's meetings.
As a reminder, the main conditions for receiving a subvention:
selection of one of three technological models of catering organization;
the project should provide for the comprehensive modernization of canteens (catering units) of general secondary education institutions, including the purchase of equipment, reconstruction, and/or major repairs of premises;
confirmed co-financing from the local budget, the minimum amount of which corresponds to the community's tax capacity index;
safe conditions for the educational process (full-time/mixed education, availability of shelters, or provision for their construction by the end of the calendar year).
The granting of the subvention is an important step towards achieving one of the strategic goals of the school catering reform — modernization of infrastructure. It is aimed at improving the nutritional conditions of students and teachers in schools. Modernizing canteens and food service units will help ensure high-quality and safe food.
By the end of the school year, all 159 schools that received funding are expected to have fully modernized canteens equipped with the latest technological equipment following modern standards and requirements.
The pages of the selected projects will be filled with data, and their implementation will be monitored (including procurement data, reports on funds received and used, the progress of work, and photographic documentation) through the DREAM ecosystem.
All information will be available publicly:
in the financial program profile: https://bit.ly/3SN8jAD,
on the pages of each selected project,
in the Business Intelligence Module: https://bi.dream.gov.ua/ (section "Details of financial programs").
Earlier, a subvention for the construction of school shelters was distributed through the DREAM system. As a result, funding for 50 projects was approved, with a total cost of UAH 2.19 billion. In addition, as part of the additional selection, the Ministry of Education and Science approved 7 more projects to receive state funding for major repairs and construction of shelters in general secondary education institutions, costing UAH 205.99 million. Detailed information on the selected projects is available here: https://bit.ly/3SJCBnN.
