Schoolchildren in Olevska community left without free lunches due to tender disputes

Half of the second month of the academic year has already passed, but students in Olevska lyceums have still not received their guaranteed free meals. Instead, local authorities have once again announced tenders to finance these services. This was reported by Oleksandr Ignatiev, head of the Olevska branch of the NGO "Stop Corruption".

Tender twists and turns: who won and who lost

As early as September this year, Oleksandr Ignatiev noted that the Olevska territorial community is likely the only one in Ukraine where schoolchildren are not provided with free lunches. The situation began to escalate shortly before the start of the academic year. On 6 August, the local education department published a tender for the procurement of meals for the lyceum with an estimated value of 24.9 million hryvnia.

The first winner, the company RAPAS, did not manage to start work due to a complaint filed by competitor LLC "Kyivpromservice 1" with the Antimonopoly Committee. The second attempt also failed: after LLC "Domashnia Kuchnia" was declared the winner, claims from "Kyivpromservice 1" arose again.

In the end, to ensure children had food between 14 September and 9 October, the education department signed a temporary contract with LLC "Kyivpromservice 1" for the amount of 4.78 million hryvnia.

City council explanations: duplication or separate services?

The legal department of the NGO "Stop Corruption" sent a request to the education department of the Olevska City Council to clarify the situation. In their response, officials explained that on 6 August 2026, the customer announced the procurement of outsourcing services with an estimated value of 24.59 million hryvnia excluding VAT. LLC "Kyivpromservice 1" was declared the winner as a result of a negotiation procedure, as it was necessary to ensure the continuity of meals due to numerous challenges.

Separately, the city council commented on a procurement worth 609,960 hryvnia excluding VAT, which was also won by "Kyivpromservice 1". This tender concerned catering services announced on 30 July. The bidding did not take place due to the absence of offers, so the winner was determined through negotiations. The city council emphasised that these procurements do not duplicate each other, as they relate to different services and educational institutions.

At the same time, the customer acknowledged that LLC "Kyivpromservice 1" had improperly fulfilled its obligations under the contract dated 14 September. In some lyceums, children did not receive meals or received them in an incomplete form. The education department sent the contractor the corresponding claims. It was also noted that the contract for catering services had not yet been signed at the time the response was provided.

«У зв’язку з виявленими порушеннями Замовником на адресу Виконавця направлялися відповідні претензії щодо належного виконання договірних зобов’язань та усунення виявлених порушень» (In connection with the identified violations, the Customer sent the Contractor the corresponding claims regarding the proper performance of contractual obligations and the elimination of the identified violations).

The education department also noted that as of 2 October, student meals were not being provided due to the introduction of distance learning from 30 September 2026. The question arises: are educational institutions ready to accept schoolchildren in the event of a stabilisation of the security situation?

New tenders and costs for parents

On 13–14 October, the Olevska City Council announced new tenders for the procurement of meal services — both outsourcing and catering. Their completion is scheduled for the end of October and the beginning of November. This means that the final determination of the winner may occur only towards the end of the semester. What will happen to meals if in-person learning resumes earlier?

In accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 869 dated 1 July 2026, free hot meals for students in grades 1–11 are provided from state subsidy funds. The daily cost for a primary school student is estimated at 50 hryvnia, and for students of basic and specialised secondary education — at 60 hryvnia.

Thus, if a family has one child, in-person education at state-form institutions in the Olevska community will cost parents approximately 300 hryvnia. For large families, this amount may be significantly higher.

«Виглядає це все, особливо в результаті, – дивно. Питання тоді: навіщо ламали систему харчування, яка була раніше? Були ж їдальні в школах, що працювали по медичних картах, – і не залучали ніякі фірми» (It all looks strange, especially the result. The question then is: why did they break the meal system that existed before? There were canteens in schools that operated based on medical cards, and no companies were involved), – Oleksandr Ignatiev comments on the situation.

It is worth noting that after the latest meeting of the NGO "Stop Corruption" branches, two activists of the organisation presented their proposals for improving draft law No. 15573, which concerns the protection of military whistleblowers.