This school year, two types of free meals for primary school students have been introduced in Kazan

This school year, the Department of Food and Social Nutrition of Kazan provides hot balanced meals to 160 thousand schoolchildren of the city, which is 9 thousand more compared to the previous year. All 1-4 grades students receive free hot meals. Rima Mukhamedshina, Director General of the Department of Food and Social Nutrition of Kazan, informed about this at the Business Monday meeting at the Executive Committee.

“The increase in the number of schoolchildren by 9 thousand is a great number, - Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of the city, drew attention. – There are districts in the republic of Tatarstan in which the population is slightly more than 10 thousand. And we have grown by 9 thousand schoolchildren. We are increasing every year with a small difference in numbers for the past 10 years. We have learned how to competently manage this work, predict, analyze and prepare for the increase of students at the beginning of the school year. Everyone needs not only to be provided with an educational program, but also to be fed.”

As the Mayor noted, thanks to the construction of schools and the reconstruction of canteens, the capacity has increased by 7,700 seats, 144 canteens are already operating in Kazan in the format of school restaurants. “And, of course, the capacity of enterprises can be most accurately assessed in crisis situations. In this regard, the department has proved its credibility both during the period of international sports events, and during the coronavirus pandemic, when we organized the delivery of meals to schoolchildren, and, of course, recently, free meals have been organized not only for children from families of the mobilized, but also for the mobilized residents at assembly points,” the Mayor reminded.

Как рассказала Р.Мухамедшина, для школьников доступны 4 комплекса меню на выбор, стоимость которых не увеличивалась с апреля 2021 года. Завтрак или полдник можно приобрести за 30 рублей. На выбор предлагается 2 варианта комплексного обеда за 48 рублей. Меню свободного выбора доступно для учащихся за 73 рубля.

According to Rima Mukhametshina, 4 menu sets are available for schoolchildren to choose from, the cost of which has not changed since April 2021. Breakfast or snack can be purchased for 30 rubles. There are 2 options for a set lunch for 48 rubles. The menu of free choice is available for students for 73 rubles.

Since the beginning of this school year, 2 types of free hot meals for primary school students have been offered as an experiment, the director of the Department of Food and Social Nutrition of Kazan reminded. Taking into account the wishes of parents and schoolchildren, the second option was chosen – instead of a meat dish, dairy is offered, for example, porridge or cheesecakes, casserole or pancakes, as well as yogurt.

In addition, from 1 September, the pre-order system is being tested using the Educational Card application, that allows to pre-order a set lunch. At the moment, such a system is used at the lyceums No. 78, 159 and gymnasium No.102. It is expected that after testing, the pre-order will be available at all schools of Kazan.

During the first half of the current student year, the laboratory of the Department of Food and Social Nutrition of Kazan have inspected schools 242 times for the quality and safety of meals. In total, specialists conducted more than 101 thousand analyzes. According to the research results, 394 tons of incoming raw materials and food products were rejected.

“The system of delivery and quality control of products for school canteens has been established. Health of residents is our main priority. And if we are talking about the health of children, then this is an even higher responsibility, and we should approach this issue accordingly,”- Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of the city, drew attention.

In the first half of the student year, 7,825 records were left in the Parental Control book– 97.5% of them are positive. As Rima Mukhametshina noted, parents have left just a few comments in the book on the taste qualities (2.5%) and the temperature of serving dishes (0.5%). 99% of the positive entries are about the cleanliness of the canteen.

“It is important that parents interact with schools, especially with teachers, - I. Metshin stressed. – All this makes it possible to keep the quality of hot meals for schoolchildren at the same level, because children's health is laid at school age. And it is our task, parents, schools and the department, to form the culture of healthy nutrition, to form their healthy habits."