"68% of Local Governments Provide Less Than 6,000 Won Per Meal for Food-Insecure Children"

Kwonikwi "School Meal Card Design Should Be Changed to Look Like Regular Cards" Improvement Recommendation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has issued a recommendation stating that the meal support amounts for children at risk of food insecurity managed by local governments often fall short of the standards and need to be corrected.

On the 13th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) prepared the "Improvement Plan for Blind Spots in the Child Meal Support System" and recommended it to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments.

According to the ACRC, although the Ministry of Health and Welfare advised through the "Standard Guide for Meal Support for Food-Insecure Children" to set the meal support amount at 6,000 KRW or more per meal, as of March, 154 local governments, accounting for 68% of all local governments, were providing less than 6,000 KRW. While many local governments diversified their support methods to include meal cards, group meals, and lunchbox delivery, it was revealed that 72 local governments did not operate a meal card system.

There was also a significant disparity among local governments that issued meal cards. According to the ACRC, some local governments had relatively few affiliated stores, causing inconvenience for children, and there were cases where children felt embarrassed because the meal card design differed from regular credit cards.

In response, the ACRC recommended local governments provide information on affiliated meal card stores through major portal sites and improve the meal card design to be the same as regular cards. The ACRC also cited Daegu Metropolitan City, which signed an agreement with E-Mart to allow the use of meal cards at E-Mart food courts nationwide, as a best practice.

Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the ACRC stated, "I hope children can comfortably eat at restaurants rather than convenience stores," and urged, "Local governments should also strive to spread a culture of sharing by discovering and promoting 'Good Restaurants' that offer meals at discounted prices."

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