Shashlik, meatballs, goulash, borscht. We looked at what children are fed at school and how much it costs
September 26, 2025
School meals play a key role in shaping healthy habits in children and adolescents, providing them with the necessary nutrients for full growth and development.
Proper nutrition at school not only contributes to improving the physical condition of students but also affects their concentration, academic performance, and overall well-being. In today's world, where children are exposed to various temptations of fast food and unhealthy food, organizing quality school meals becomes particularly relevant. It is not just a matter of providing children with food, but an important step towards creating a healthy future for the younger generation. The School Catering Combine is responsible for organizing meals in Minsk schools. BELTA correspondents found out what and how children are fed, using School No. 2 in Minsk as an example.
Fifth-grader Nikita Tomashkov and his classmates eagerly await school lunch every day. It usually takes place after the 3rd or 4th lesson, by which time active fifth-graders have managed to get quite hungry. "I like everything in our canteen. Today we have chicken cutlets with pasta – it's very tasty, just like at home. I also like buckwheat with sausages. But my absolute favorite, which I'll never refuse, is pelmeni. Once they gave us pelmeni with sour cream. Our whole class ate it up. They should give it more often," the boy said, and his friends confirmed, not yet knowing that pelmeni would be served the next day.
Their class teacher and math teacher, Tatyana Lisovskaya, accompanies the class to the canteen every day. The teacher assured that the pelmeni are not only eaten completely at school but there is also room for seconds. "Children mostly eat well. There are favorite dishes, and there are less favorite ones, but no less healthy. Teachers make sure that students eat. We explain, we persuade. And in general, we teach them to treat food, bread, with care, for which we recall history, the blockade, and talk about hunger, which is unfortunately not so rare in the modern world," the teacher shared.
The head of school nutrition at School No. 2 is Larisa Dubanevich, the canteen's production manager. She is the one who receives the products from which breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks will subsequently be prepared at the school. "We work with a two-week menu, which is developed by technologists at the Minsk School Nutrition Combine. For example, we have a chicken dish on our schedule. The Vitebsk Poultry Factory supplies us with the products. They deliver fillet and thigh. I inspect them to ensure they haven't been thawed. If everything is fine, I stamp it, and we accept the products. Then we prepare, for example, chicken cutlets, if they are on our menu. It's the same with meat products. Vegetables are supplied to us peeled and vacuum-packed, and can be stored for 10 days. The acceptance procedure is similar: we review the accompanying documents, the quality certificate, and check for any breaches of the seal. Dairy products are supplied by the dairy combine," informed Larisa Dubanevich.
The manager emphasized that the products always arrive in good quality. "They fully meet the requirements for children's nutrition. We don't even have cases where we have to reject products. The supplier strives for quality, as everyone understands that this is children's nutrition. Everyone has children and grandchildren, so everyone tries to ensure that the children eat well," she is confident.
Oksana Kokareva, the principal of Minsk Secondary School No. 2, noted that the canteen and buffet are the most popular and accessible places in the school. "This is considering that the use of mobile devices is currently restricted in schools. During breaks, we use all active means for leisure activities. We have created conditions for sports and interactive games. Another way to distract from both the academic process and the absence of mobile devices is, of course, visiting the school canteen and buffet. We constantly monitor the organization of meals right up to the end of the second shift, because students in the 6th and 7th grades eat during the second shift, as well as the extended-day group in primary school. We have established high-quality cooperation between the School Nutrition Combine and the school here," said the head of the educational institution.
Lyudmila Krupskaya, Director of the Minsk School Catering Combine, manages an enterprise responsible for all processes related to feeding children in the capital's schools. "Currently, the School Catering Combine operates 330 facilities. Our network is extensive, and we feed approximately 230,000 schoolchildren in the capital. The combine's specialists develop sample two-week menus. These menus are developed seasonally (for autumn, winter, and spring periods), taking into account calorie requirements, rational distribution of nutrients, and the frequency of inclusion of certain products. For instance, products like meat, vegetables, and milk should be present in a child's diet daily, while fish and cheese should be included at least twice a week. When developing sample menus for the autumn period, preference is given to fresh fruits and vegetables, and in the winter period, we switch to pickled and canned vegetables. The menus undergo mandatory evaluation at the Minsk City Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology to ensure compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards. The sample two-week autumn menu includes 137 dishes, 60 of which are from the information collection of technological cards for dishes and products developed by the Ministry of Education," informed Lyudmila Krupskaya.
The system is clear, but not without innovations. "This season, we have introduced three products that were not previously used in children's nutrition at all – daikon radish and celery. For daikon radish, we used a dish from the information collection, while celery is included in one salad – this is a development by our combine's specialists. Also, based on the results of a survey conducted in May last year, we offered children a sea kale and vegetable rillettes. This is boiled, chopped sea kale with the addition of vegetables – carrots, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Sea kale and vegetable rillettes are very rich, primarily in iodine, vitamins, and minerals. Children really liked this product, and this year we have included it in the menu and are already seeing positive feedback. The most important indicator for us is a child's clean plate after school lunch," emphasized the head of the enterprise.
Regarding the cost of school meals, the current cost of breakfast for primary school students is Br2.08, and lunch for them (attending extended day groups) is Br2.98. Lunch for students in grades 5-11 costs Br3.51. As previously reported by the Ministry of Education, Belarus will increase the monetary norms of expenses for meals for students of general education schools, preschool and other educational institutions by 5% from October 1. "The norms are developed based on the analysis of food prices conducted every three months. This approach ensures objectivity and transparency in the formation of meal expenses. The change will be an important step towards a sustainable, high-quality, and affordable system of children's nutrition, where the primary focus remains the health of the younger generation," the department explained, noting that the last increase in meal expense norms was introduced on September 1, 2023.
Pricing is also regulated in school buffets. "Yes, we also organize children's meals additionally in buffets," noted Lyudmila Krupskaya. "There is a restriction on the products offered here: the buffet should have no more than 10 types of sweet items in industrial packaging. This can include, for example, marshmallows, halva, chocolate, waffles, and so on. I emphasize that all products sold in buffets comply with children's dietetics. You will not find any forbidden or unacceptable additives in a school buffet. There are no carbonated drinks, no chips, only juice-containing beverages and permissible sweets. In addition, products of our own production are widely represented. Today, for example, is a day when children can buy pizza and sausage rolls. We have restrictions on these products: they can only be consumed by schoolchildren twice a week. All other baked goods - buns, croissants - are sold daily. There is a wide assortment of salads, sandwiches, yogurts, and milkshakes. Our children love these very much."
In fact, parents can also control everything edible at school. "If they have questions, there is the school-wide parent committee for that. Legal representatives can organize into 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. Please, a group of representatives from the school-wide parent committee can observe how everything is organized, even at the stage of food preparation; they can be present in the food block at the moment of product loading. They can even taste the dishes we serve children every day," emphasized the school principal.
Nadezhda Shcherbak, head of the school nutrition department of the Frunzensky district of the School Nutrition Combine, is confident that the quality of nutrition also depends on those who cook in schools. "Each educational institution has its own staffing table. According to it, we select personnel, striving to ensure that a team of professionals works in each school – we select the best staff. Because quality products are only half the battle. They need to be cooked well. We all understand that one cook will prepare mashed potatoes one way, and another will prepare them differently from the same products. 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.
