Education Ministry to Prohibit Unhealthy Food in School Canteens

Georgia’s Minister of Education and Science, Alexander Jejelava, said unhealthy food will no longer be sold in school canteens and called on school administrations to remove all unhealthy food from their school buffets. Jejelava said that monitoring will be carried out in every school in order to eliminate the sale of unhealthy food in Georgia’s educational institutions. “We will also hold a special information campaign in schools to transform them into healthy institutions. This is our priority,” he said.

The news delighted many parents. “My daughter is in the first year at a Georgian school,” said Katie Davies, one parent who was happy to hear of the new regulation. “She and her friends just recently started buying the various sugary ‘juices’ the canteen sells, even when I ask her not to. I’m very happy to hear that this will be nipped in the bud and that Georgian schools will be following the good examples presented in western educational institutions. It definitely raises my hopes for the future of the education system here—every little counts!”

Georgia’s Ministry Education and Science released a statement regarding the issue, saying that a recommendation has been implemented which envisages the prohibition of snacks, sweets and fizzy drinks sold in school buffets. “Unhealthy food products are readily available to pupils in schools, threatening their health,” the statement reads.

The ministry believes that the standards of healthy food should be raised in every school in the country, both private and public. “Healthy food can help children to concentrate better and will facilitate their ability to more easily learn during lessons,” the statement reads.

Thea Morison