On a regular Monday morning, a cook of School #20 in Khuroson district puts a pot of soup on the electric stove. The bell rings to end the lesson and the first visitors for today – primary grade schoolchildren – enter the sunny, recently renovated canteen to have their everyday warm meal.

The canteen and kitchen renovation works at School #20 were carried out as a part of a broader capacity-strengthening efforts supported by World Food Programme (WFP) Tajikistan and the Russian Federation. The initiative aims to smooth the transition of the School feeding programme to national ownership within the Strategy for the Sustainable Development of School Meals in Tajikistan 2017-2027 elaborated by the Government of Tajikistan.

The renovation efforts focus on providing schools with necessary resources to build and upgrade kitchens and canteens, including modern electrical equipment, kitchen utensils, as well as access to gas and clean water, all to enhance the quality of school meal preparation.

Under the renovation at School #20, the new kitchen and canteen building was constructed, increasing the capacity from 60 to 144 schoolchildren at a time. Additionally, the school received electrical cooking equipment, kitchen items, and sets of tables and chairs to host more students.

With these improvements, meal preparation became safer for cooks and more nutritious for children. As the school headmaster Safarmurod Ziyoev shared:

“The old canteen could only accommodate one class at a time. The cooks had to gather firewood themselves and prepare school meals in a cauldron over an open fire. Now school cooks use modern equipment and have room for creativity to expand the variety of children’s diets”.

The old cooking place

He also noticed that the improved meal conditions have had a positive impact on children’s learning:

“Before, children waited in line to receive food in the hot spring and cold winter; now lunch is a pleasure, and they save energy for better learning”.

Children eating in the new canteen

School #20 is one of 113 schools renovated by WFP since 2022 under the capacity-strengthening support to the Government of Tajikistan. Of the renovated schools, 30 have already been transferred to the Government of Tajikistan for national funding of school meals. 

Through the renovations, WFP supports the Government of Tajikistan in achieving food security and broadening access to good-quality nutrition. 

Each kitchen and canteen renovated is a step towards creating a sustainable national school meals system, ensuring that every child grows in better conditions.

As the school headmaster Safarmurod Ziyoev puts it:

“The renovation has improved life for both staff and students and become a source of inspiration for us. The building of the new canteen has set an example of how important it is to invest in comfort and well-being and now we are exploring the possibilities to renovate the school”.

School children and school staff, School #20 in Khuroson district