Haenam-gun to Open Local Food Direct Store in August

Accelerating the Establishment of a 2030 Food Plan for a Sustainable Food Cycle System

Myeong Hyun-gwan, Haenam County Governor, is shopping at the local food temporary direct store. (Photo by Haenam County)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 6th that the local food direct store, which is being promoted for the purpose of the 2030 Food Plan project, a national agenda, has started construction earlier this month on the site of the direct store in Gugyo-ri, Haenam-eup, and will open in August.

The Haenam Local Food Direct Store will be a two-story building above ground with a site area of 2,078㎡ and a total floor area of 991㎡. A total construction cost of 2.5 billion KRW, including 1.17 billion KRW of national and provincial subsidies, will be invested. The first floor will house the local food direct store, and the second floor will include offices, an education center, and a shared kitchen.

The new site was selected as an area with a high population ratio living in 10 apartment complexes with 2,216 households and houses within a 500m radius, where preference for local food is high.

Previously, Haenam-gun opened and has been operating a temporary Haenam Local Food direct store at the Haenam-eup YMCA since October last year. As of the end of December last year, 4,649 people visited over 64 days, generating total sales of 72.75 million KRW.

In particular, ahead of the direct store opening, efforts have been focused on organizing producers and accelerating the establishment of a multi-item production and supply base by providing year-round farmer education.

Currently, 159 farms are shipping 409 items to the temporary direct store, and about 200 farms are waiting to ship in time for the opening of the Gugyo-ri store. It is expected that once the direct store is fully operational, it will showcase a variety of local foods from about 350 farms and 500 items.

Additionally, the county completed a public meal support center at the end of last year to supply eco-friendly ingredients to schools and childcare facilities in the area, and it is scheduled to open in the first half of this year.

Haenam-gun has gained momentum in the local food business since being selected as the nation’s first leading local government for the regional food plan in 2018. The Haenam 2030 Food Plan project is a key pledge of the 7th local government administration, aiming to establish a virtuous cycle food system that improves income for small-scale farmers through stable market access and guarantees safe and healthy food for consumers.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan said, “We are focusing on promoting the Haenam 2030 Food Plan to establish a local food virtuous cycle system with the vision of realizing the universal value of citizens’ happiness and safe and healthy food.” He added, “Once the local food store is fully operational, it is expected that all citizens will be able to easily and affordably purchase safe and healthy clean food produced locally, greatly contributing to the income increase of small local farmers,” urging citizens’ interest and participation.

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