Pohang City "Expands Child Meal Card Usage" ... Moving Beyond Convenience Stores

Starting Next Year, HACCP-Certified Meals to Provide 'Quality Improvement'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] Pohang City, Gyeongbuk announced on the 29th that since 2021, it has been providing meals certified by HACCP to children at risk of missing meals due to economic or family circumstances.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) refers to the food hazard analysis and critical control standards that ensure optimal safety at each stage from the production of raw food materials to before the final consumer consumes the food.

Among low-income children under 18 in Pohang City, children at risk of missing meals include approximately 3,850 children: 2,015 elementary school students (52.3%), 864 middle school students (22.4%), 692 high school students (18%), and preschool and special school children. The budget is about 8 billion KRW.

Pohang City plans to publicly recruit and select HACCP-certified companies in November to provide safe and balanced meals to children. Starting next year, meals will be provided to some children using local children's centers and children receiving lunchboxes at home.

Additionally, the city will expand the usage locations of the Child Meal Card (Gyeongbuk Chamsarang Card) and recruit affiliated stores so that children can choose various meals according to their preferences.

Regarding the Child Meal Card, Pohang City noted that usage increased by about 8.7%, approximately 1.2 billion KRW (as of August 2021) compared to last year, but much of the usage occurred during emergencies such as COVID-19 and natural disasters. Accordingly, the city plans to expand affiliated stores from mainly convenience stores to bakeries, marts, restaurants, and more.

Furthermore, the city plans to improve accessibility by attaching stickers to the entrances of affiliated stores so that children can easily use them. The Child Meal Card has a daily maximum limit of 20,000 KRW, and the supplementary food card has a daily maximum limit of 25,000 KRW. Remaining points can be used until the end of the year.

Choi Taeseon, Director of Education and Youth Affairs of Pohang City, stated, "We will do our best to support balanced and hygienic meals so that children can grow up healthily, and especially with the prolonged COVID-19 causing many days of school and daycare closures, we will strive to prevent children from missing meals due to care gaps at home."

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