Healthy Nutrition for Children

Kazan, Russia

About the city. In 2006, meals in Kazan’s schools were in poor condition. The equipment in most school canteens was worn out. Violations of the technological cooking process made it impossible to provide students with hot meals that comply with the Sanitary Rules and Norms.

Goal

The program’s primary goal is to provide high-quality and healthy food for students in schools.

Implementation period. The program started in 2006.

Fact

In 2006, there were 97,700 students in the schools of the city of Kazan.

Solutions

The healthy nutrition program for children has an integrated approach. New updates were added every year of the implementation of the strategy. With the program’s launch, a nutrition department was formed, which organises catering in kindergartens, schools, hospitals, state and municipal institutions, and major international events.

Initially, it was decided to introduce the Cook & Chill food preparation technology, in which dishes (meat, fish, poultry) and complex side dishes are prepared at the food plant at night and then in a short time are cooled to + 2 + 4 degrees in the package. In the morning chilled food is sent by special transport at the request of schools. Immediately before the break, the cooks heat up the incoming chilled products using a combi steamer. For the new technology of cooking, three harvesting factories were reconstructed.

In the same 2006, the replacement of obsolete equipment of school catering units began.

All schools introduced a single school menu with a single cost, which diversified the diet of schoolchildren and balanced it in terms of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, taking into account the age characteristics of children and adolescents. From the beginning of the program, funds have been annually allocated from the budget for the meals of students from low-income families – 18% of children eat at schools for free.

In 2008, changes were made to the Logistics System. For the storage of raw materials and food on the territory of the Department, a certified system of storage facilities and refrigeration equipment was organized. The capacity of the updated system allows keeping a two-week supply of food and raw materials. The decision was made on the centralised purchase of products – 40,000 tons per year. This decision made it possible to work with the largest manufacturers, which reduced purchase costs and quality assurance.

In the same year, the department purchased 58 vehicles to quickly deliver products.

In 2012, for the first time in Russia, a system of non-cash payments, the Educational Card, began to operate in Kazan schools. With this card, children can pay for food in canteens, which significantly reduces service time, and parents have the opportunity to receive information about the state of the account and what the child has eaten today. Over time, a “Pre-Order” system was added, which allows high school students to order a school menu several days in advance based on their own taste preferences.

The project “School Restaurant” was launched, during the implementation of which school canteens are gradually being transformed. A characteristic feature of the renovation is a bright design, ergonomic furniture, modern decor elements, and an increase of seating.

In 2013, as part of the legacy of the World Summer Universiade, the Department of Food was transferred to the Food Combine with modern equipment and a technological laboratory. In the laboratory, careful control over raw materials and products is carried out.

In 2016, The mobile application “Ate and Satisfied” was developed for students in grades 5-11 to improve the quality of catering in schools in Kazan.

The application allows:

1. Evaluate the dishes of the day.
2. Vote for new dishes that will appear on the school menu.
3. Evaluate the school canteen according to general criteria once a month and according to specific criteria – daily.
4. Track the rating of schools based on the reviews of the students themselves.
5. Control the balance of funds on the bank card account.
6. Become a loyalty program member to use the accumulated points in the school cafeteria.

In 2018, the Mom in the Topic project was launched, bringing together active mom bloggers and caring parents (audience coverage of more than 1 million people) who believe that parents can influence school meals and make them better. Meetings are held regularly once every two months.

Since January 2019, as part of the Parental Control project, parents’ visits have become daily in all schools in the city. In addition, the journal began to be maintained in electronic form, which made it possible to respond promptly to incoming requests.

In the summer of 2019, a large-scale reconstruction of canteens and the modernisation of food units were carried out at once in 36 schools in Kazan.

The total investment budget amounted to 260 million rubles, including 170 million from the city. As part of the WorldSkills-2019 heritage, 80 Kazan schools received 550 pieces of equipment and inventory for a total of RUB 5.2 million, and the Power Plant was given large, industrial-scale equipment totalling 55 million rubles.

By the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year, technological and refrigeration equipment was purchased for the Food Combine, the areas for picking, unloading, and loading products were enlarged and insulated. Because of the epidemiological situation, bactericidal lamps, personal protective equipment, detergents and disinfectants, and household goods were also purchased for schools. For the youngest, a series of cartoons and karaoke “Chef Show” was developed, which are broadcast during classroom hours in schools. “Chef Show” is an entertaining format of influencing healthy eating habits in schoolchildren.

In June 2021, Kazan hosted the international forum “Healthy Cities. Healthy nutrition for children”. It became the first Eurasian Regional Forum of the Milan Pact, the coordinating council of which was headed by the capital of Tatarstan. About a thousand people participated in the forum: Russian and foreign experts, mayors of cities, representatives of the healthcare and healthy nutrition sectors, heads of public organisations. The forum program was presented in three different formats:

• city family holiday
• international forum in a hybrid format
• excursion to the Food Department

Team

Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin, Department of Food and Social Nutrition of Kazan.

Timeline

Every day, the Department provides meals to 176 thousand people in 365 schools in Kazan and eight regions of the Republic of Tatarstan.

In 2019, the School Feeding System Reform project won the following prestigious international competitions:

• Milan Pact Awards in Italy for Sustainable and Healthy Diet
• Tehran Golden Adobe Global Award in Tehran in the nomination “Local Government Development, Planning and Management”
• Participation in the International Advisory Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome

In 2020, the Kazan program “Healthy Nutrition for Children” took 1st place in the “Healthy Cities of Russia” competition in the “Best Healthy Nutrition Program” nomination.

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