I.Metshin on school meals: “It is important that this is a standard, and not specially cooked to the visit of the mayor and TV”

More than 780 Kazan parents took part in the control of school meals at 154 educational institutions since the beginning of last week. Since January 11, every day in school canteens, one of the parents can check the quality of meals. Today, the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin got acquainted with the organization of parental control at the lyceum № 5 of the Vakhitovsky district.

“Parental control is very important, because teachers, parents and we have the mutual goal: so that children get hot meals for lunch. Doctors say that this is good for health, so we pay systematic attention to this“, - the head of the city emphasized during the inspection of the canteen.

The lyceum № 5 was built in 1916. At that time, it was one of the most modern buildings of the early twentieth century. In 2011, it underwent a renovation, and in 2019, a new canteen was equipped there.

As for parental control, parents checked school meals before. However, since January 11, a checklist has been used for this purpose. It includes such criteria as the menus in the canteen and its compliance with served meals, the cleanliness of the canteen, serving temperature and taste of food. The Department of Education and the Department of Food. Analyze the results of online questionnaires.

“When we once again considered the school meals issue, we realized that a lot depends on the director, - Ilsur Metshin noted. – If there is a proactive position of the director and interaction with parents, the less problems we have. These check lists will not work, if there is no interaction with the Department of Nutrition, the parent committee, the director, and then the food will not become tastier and hotter. Now, the problem is that sometimes a cold soup is served at some schools. These are the issues that we need to improve together with teachers and parents”.

The Mayor of the city tasted dishes from the menu for elementary school students. “Very tasty. It is important that this is a standard, and not specially cooked for the visit of the mayor and TV. This is what all 166 schools serve today. We set a task to ensure that the coverage of hot meals in schools is 90%. The high school students are already 16-17 years old and they are already more prepared for life, while young children should get used to a healthy diet. They, of course, prefer sweets, cola, and hot dogs. But we must provide them at least in school with balanced, healthy, tasty food”, - I.Metshin emphasized.

The Mayor also noted that conditions for comfortable meals for schoolchildren are being created in Kazan. Sixty-six canteens have already been renovated, and 45 more are planned to be renovated this year.

For information, this year, according to the decision of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, 70 thousand primary school students eat free of charge in Kazan. Another 13 thousand children are provided with meals on a preferential basis. “Catering in schools is very important for us. Children can learn differently, dress differently, but at least in school they should eat equally tasty food. And we want our parents to help us in this”, - the Mayor of Kazan said.