Shashlik, meatballs, goulash, borscht. We looked at what school meals are available for children and how much they cost.

School meals play a key role in developing healthy habits in children and adolescents, providing them with the necessary nutrients for healthy growth and development. Proper nutrition at school not only improves students' physical fitness but also impacts their concentration, academic performance, and overall well-being. In today's world, where children are faced with the temptations of fast food and junk food, providing high-quality school meals is especially important. This isn't just a matter of providing children with food, but an important step toward creating a healthy future for the younger generation. The School Meals Factory is responsible for organizing meals in MINSK schools. BELTA correspondents learned about what and how children are fed, using School No. 2 in Minsk as an example. Fifth-grader Nikita Tomashkov and his classmates look forward to school lunch every day. it usually takes place after the third or fourth period, by which time the active fifth-graders are quite hungry. "I love everything about our cafeteria. Today we had chicken cutlet with pasta—it's delicious, just like home. I also love buckwheat with sausage. But my favorite thing, something I'll never refuse, is pelmeni. We once had them with sour cream. Our class ate it all. I wish they'd serve them more often," the boy said, and his friends confirmed, not yet knowing that pelmeni would be the dish the next day.
Their homeroom teacher and math teacher, Tatyana Lisovskaya, accompanies the class to the cafeteria every day. The teacher assured them that not only are all the pelmeni eaten at school, but there's always room for more. "The children generally eat well. They have favorite dishes, and some they don't, but they're no less healthy. The teachers make sure the students eat. Sometimes we explain, sometimes we persuade. In general, we teach them to be careful with food and bread. To do this, we reminisce about history, the Siege of Leningrad, and talk about famine, which, unfortunately, is not so uncommon in the modern world," the teacher shared. Larisa Dubanevich, the HEAD of the cafeteria's food service, is responsible for the children's nutrition at School No. 2. She receives the ingredients that will be used to prepare breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks at the school. "We work with a two-week menu, which is prepared by technologists at the Minsk School Meals Factory. For example, we have a chicken product on schedule. The product is supplied to us by the Vitebsk broiler factory. They bring us fillets and thighs. I inspect them to make sure they haven't defrosted. If everything is OK, I stamp it, and we accept the product. Then we prepare, for example,"Chicken cutlets , if they're on our menu. It's the same with MEAT products. Vegetables are delivered to us vacuum-cleaned and can be stored for 10 days. We have the same process for receiving them: we review the accompanying documents, quality certificates, and check for leaks. Dairy is supplied by a dairy plant," Larisa Dubanevich explained. The manager emphasized that the products always arrive of good quality. "They fully meet the requirements for baby food. We never even have to reject products. The supplier strives for quality, because everyone understands that this is...""Children's meals . Everyone has children and grandchildren, and everyone tries to ensure that their children eat well," she said. Oksana Kokareva,
Principal of Minsk Secondary School No. 2, noted that the cafeteria and cafeteria are the most popular and accessible places in the school. "This is taking into account the fact that the use of mobile devices is currently limited in schools. During breaks, we use all active means for leisure activities. We have created conditions for sports and interactive games. Also, one way to distract from both the learning process and the absence of a mobile device is, of course, visiting the school cafeteria and cafeteria. We constantly monitor the organization of meals until the end of the second shift, because during the second shift, we have students in grades 6 and 7, as well as an extended-day group in the elementary school. “Here we have established high-quality collaboration between the School Meals Plant and the school,” said the head of the educational institution. Lyudmila Krupskaya, DIRECTOR of the Minsk School Meals Plant, manages the enterprise, which is responsible for all processes related to children’s meals in the capital’s schools. “The School Meals Plant currently has 330 facilities. Our network is large; we feed about 230,000 schoolchildren in the capital. The plant’s specialists develop sample two-week rations. They are developed seasonally (for the fall, winter, and spring periods), taking into account calorie requirements , rational distribution of nutrients, and also the frequency of inclusion of certain products. For example, products such as meat , vegetables, and MILK should be included in a child’s diet daily, andFish and cheese – at least twice a week. When developing sample diets for the fall, preference is given to fresh vegetables and fruits, and in the winter, we switch to pickled and canned vegetables. The diets undergo mandatory assessment at the Minsk City Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology for compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards. "The sample two-week diet for the fall includes 137 dishes, 60 of which are dishes from the informational collection of technological maps of dishes and products developed by the Ministry of Education," explained Lyudmila Krupskaya. The system is clear, but not without its innovations. "This season, we included three products that were previously not used in children's nutrition – daikon and celery. We took the daikon dish from the informational collection, and the celery is included in one salad – this was developed by specialists at our plant. Based on the results of a survey conducted last May, we also offered children a seaweed riet with vegetables. This is boiled chopped seaweed with vegetables—carrots, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Seaweed riet with vegetables is very rich, especially in iodine, vitamins, and minerals. The children really liked this product, and this year we've included it in their diet and are already seeing positive feedback. “And the most important indicator for us is a child’s clean plate after school lunch,” the head of the enterprise emphasized. As for the cost of school meals, breakfast for elementary school students currently costs Br2.08, lunch for them (those who attend an extended day group) is Br2.98. Lunch for students in grades 5-11 costs Br3.51. As previously reported by the Ministry of Education, in Belarus, from October 1, the monetary standards for food expenses for students in comprehensive schools, preschools and other educational institutions will be increased by 5%. “The standards are based on an analysis of food prices conducted every three months. This approach ensures objectivity and transparency in the formation of food costs. The change will be an important step towards a sustainable, high-quality and affordable system of children's nutrition, where the main guideline remains" We are committed to caring for the HEALTH of the younger generation," the department explained, noting that the last increase in food spending standards was introduced on September 1, 2023.
Pricing in school cafeterias is also regulated. "Yes, we provide additional meals for children in the cafeterias," noted Lyudmila Krupskaya. "There is a limit on the products available: the cafeteria can have no more than 10 types of sweet products in industrial packaging. This could include, for example, marshmallows, halva, chocolate, wafers, and so on. I would like to emphasize that all products sold in the cafeterias comply with children's diets. You will not find prohibited or unacceptable additives in the school cafeteria. There is no soda or chips; there are only juice drinks and permitted sweets. In addition, we have a wide selection of our own products. Today is the day when children can buy pizza and sausage rolls. We have restrictions on these products: they can only be used in school meals twice a week. All other baked goods - buns, puff pastries - are sold daily. We have a wide selection of salads, sandwiches, yogurts, and milkshakes. Our children really love these." In fact, parents can also monitor everything edible in the school . "If they have questions, there is a school-wide parent committee for that. Legal guardians can form a group, come to the school, and observe the food preparation technology. To do this, certain conditions must be met - the school has shoe covers, disposable gowns, and" Gloves . A group of representatives from the school's parent committee can see how everything is organized, even during food preparation. They can be present in the kitchen when the food is being placed in the kitchen. They can even try the dishes we feed the children every day," the school principal emphasized . Nadezhda Shcherbak, head of the school nutrition department at the Frunzensky District School Nutrition Center, is confident that the quality of food also depends on the people who cook in schools. "We have a defined staffing schedule in each educational institution. We select personnel accordingly, striving to ensure that each school has a team of professionals—we select the best people. Because high-quality products are half the battle. You have to prepare them well. We all understand that one housewife will prepare mashed potatoes one way, while another will prepare them differently from the same ingredients. "In my opinion, the most important thing to remember is that to cook for children, you need to love them and, of course, your profession," added Nadezhda Shcherbak. Svetlana PEKAR, photo by Tatyana MATUSEVICH,
BELTA.