Naju-si Emerges as a Leading Success Case in Local Food Public Catering

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Han-hyuk] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) announced on the 3rd that since the local food supply expansion agreement was signed in November 2018 with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Jeollanam-do, and public institutions in the Innovation City, local food public meals have emerged as a representative success case of win-win cooperation between urban and rural areas.

Currently, there are 15 public institutions relocated to Innovation City that receive local food ingredients from Naju, excluding the Korea Arts Council, which does not operate an in-house cafeteria.

Before the agreement, only four institutions supplied local food, but after the agreement, by focusing on spreading consensus on the value of local food win-win cooperation and maintaining steady communication among practitioners, all public institutions have achieved the result of supplying local ingredients.

Through this, the monthly sales of local food public meals increased by 1.5 times compared to before the agreement, and the number of shipping farms also increased by 129 farms within one year after the agreement (as of October last year).

The expansion of local food public meals is regarded as a representative success case of win-win cooperation between urban and rural areas through the regional food plan.

Shipping farms can rely on the stable demand from public institutions as a source of income, and public institutions can receive healthy and fresh ingredients on the same day, creating a win-win effect.

In fact, the monthly sales of local food public meals, which remained around 4 million KRW in the first half of 2018, have steadily increased and now exceed 50 million KRW.

The city expects cumulative sales to surpass 800 million KRW this year.

Earlier, from November last year until the end of the year, the city held ‘Naju Local Food Day’ for each public institution in Innovation City to commemorate the first anniversary of the local food supply expansion agreement.

Each institution designated a day to provide lunch made with 100% local agricultural products, operated promotional booths for agricultural food, and actively promoted ‘safe food with a face’ by using placards with photos and names of producers.

This year, the city plans to strengthen farm management to establish a planned production system to expand local food items and supply volume, and to increase participation from other public institutions in the jurisdiction besides Innovation City public institutions to build a stable supply system.

Mayor Kang In-gyu said, “This year, we plan to enact the Naju City Food Plan Support Ordinance and expand and relocate the Bitgaram branch of the local food direct store to foster it as a local food landmark. We will firmly establish the foundation of the government’s core agricultural policy and the regional circulation food system based on the global food plan.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.