Triangle Kimbap, Bottled Water, Rice, Soup, and Cheese Also Included... 'Hope Meal Voucher' Item List Expanded

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Expands Eligible Items for Hope Meal Voucher
Allows 'Samgak Gimbap' but Requests Quality Improvement from Convenience Stores
"Topping Increase Demands, Improved Products to Launch Around the 17th"

Adjustment Details of Hope Meal Voucher Purchase Items (Data=Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Students attending remote classes in Seoul will now be able to purchase instant rice, soup, gim (seaweed), cheese, triangular kimbap, and bottled water using the 'Hope Meal Voucher' provided to them.

On the 2nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it would expand the list of items that can be purchased with the 'Hope Meal Voucher.' This change reflects feedback that the previous restrictions on purchase items made it difficult to use the voucher. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced the improvement plan on the 28th of last month after deliberation by the School Meal Advisory Committee.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained, "Although the additional items available for purchase may vary by convenience store, preparations are underway at each store, and additional items will be available for purchase no later than the 7th."

Previously, only seasonal fruits excluding frozen ones could be purchased, but with the adjustment of items, all fruits except sugar-preserved processed fruits can now be purchased. Sandwiches have also been changed from 'vegetable sandwiches' to 'sandwiches containing vegetables.' In addition to spoonable yogurt, drinkable yogurt can now be purchased. Eggs can be purchased as processed eggs in addition to smoked eggs, but raw eggs cannot be purchased. Only bottled water of 900ml or less can be purchased, excluding packs or bundles. All types of cheese can be purchased.

The most requested item, 'triangular kimbap,' has also been added to the list of purchasable items. Initially, purchase was restricted due to concerns that the side dishes were insufficient relative to the amount of rice, making it unsuitable for nutritional management. However, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that they also requested the development of items with nutrition suitable for adolescents. Triangular kimbap with stickers indicating that they are purchasable with the voucher will also be released.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "Taking the voucher support project as an opportunity, we requested improvements in the quality of triangular kimbap. Around June 17, convenience stores will release seven types of triangular kimbap with side dishes amounting to 40% of the rice weight?more than double the previous average?and three types of triangular kimbap with increased toppings or renewed recipes."

Along with this, the 'Use Together with Children' service, which allows mobile vouchers to be gifted to children under 14 via their mobile phones, started on the 1st. Prepaid cards will also be provided for children without mobile phones.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has been providing approximately 100,000 KRW per person via Zero Pay since the 20th of last month to offer alternative meals to students attending remote classes. Since this has the nature of a meal substitute, nutritional standards equivalent to school meals were set, and purchase items were restricted accordingly.

Previously, the ten food groups available for purchase included lunch boxes (sodium within 1067mg, calories within 990kcal, protein 11.7g or more), vegetable sandwiches, seasonal fruits, kimbap excluding triangular kimbap, and spoonable yogurt. Although convenience stores released products meeting school meal standards, many parents and students returned empty-handed due to limited items and strict standards.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "We will actively supplement and improve the demands and inconveniences of students and parents by requesting the Korea Convenience Store Association to secure sufficient quantities of purchase items and to separately arrange purchasable items within convenience stores. In the future, we will actively strive for the successful promotion of the mobile voucher project through joint research with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and universities on changes in students' perceptions of food."

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