Gyeongnam Province and Gyeongnam Office of Education Support 'School Meal Agricultural Product Packages' to All Students' Homes

Gyeong-su Kim, Governor of Gyeongnam Province (left), and Jong-hoon Park, Superintendent of Gyeongnam Office of Education, are visiting the Nonghyup Yeongnam Agricultural Products Logistics Center in Miryang to encourage the staff and take a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Woo-kwon] Gyeongsangnam-do and the Gyeongnam Office of Education announced on the 12th that they will begin delivering school meal agricultural product packages to the homes of all 375,000 students at 978 elementary, middle, high, and special schools across the province.

On the same day, Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Kim Kyung-soo, Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education Park Jong-hoon, Yoon Hae-jin, Head of Nonghyup Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters, and Park Yi-sik, President of the Gyeongnam Eco-friendly Farmers Association, visited the Nonghyup Yeongnam Agricultural Products Logistics Center located in Miryang City, where the 'School Meal Gyeongnam Agricultural Products Package Support' project was launched, and encouraged the officials involved.

The school meal agricultural product package support project is a collaboration among Gyeongsangnam-do, the Gyeongnam Office of Education, Nonghyup Economic Holdings Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters (Nonghyup Yeongnam Agricultural Products Logistics Center), and the Gyeongnam Eco-friendly Cooperative Business Group to deliver agricultural product packages to students' homes as a substitute for suspended school meals.

Starting from the 12th, agricultural product packages worth approximately 30,000 KRW, consisting of 13 items including eco-friendly and general agricultural products produced within the province, will be delivered to about 375,000 households across the province for about a month.

Sixteen corporations of the Gyeongnam Eco-friendly Cooperative Business Group supply 11 eco-friendly agricultural items such as rice and onions to cities and counties within the province, while the Nonghyup Yeongnam Agricultural Products Logistics Center is responsible for supplying two general agricultural items, including cucumber and Cheongyang chili peppers, as well as overseeing package production and delivery.

Gyeongsangnam-do and the Office of Education plan to regularly inspect the production sites and package manufacturing locations with the cooperation of the Gyeongnam Agricultural Products Quality Management Institute to ensure that fresh and safe local agricultural products are included in the packages.

Nonghyup and the Eco-friendly Cooperative Business Group are focusing on maintaining freshness and cooling by applying box coating and including ice packs in preparation for rising temperatures.

Gyeongsangnam-do and the Office of Education expect that this project will not only promote the consumption of agricultural products for school meals but also alleviate the economic burden on parents for meals and snacks at home due to the suspension of school meals, and greatly help resolve the blind spots in meal support for vulnerable groups facing difficulties.

Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongsangnam-do said, "It is important to prevent farmers from collapsing," and added, "I hope this will be an opportunity for eco-friendly farmers directly affected by COVID-19 to breathe a sigh of relief."

Superintendent Park Jong-hoon of the Gyeongnam Office of Education also said, "Seeing the package production process and the fresh agricultural products with my own eyes gives me peace of mind," and requested, "Although the supply is for a large number of people in a short period, I ask the Gyeongnam Eco-friendly Cooperative Business Group and related parties to pay special attention to ensure that quality does not decline during the production and delivery process."

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