Gyeongbuk Office of Education to Implement Free Meals for Kindergartens in the New Year

Kindergarten children waiting in line for their school lunch.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] The Gyeongbuk Office of Education will provide free school meals to all kindergartens, including private kindergartens, starting from the 2022 academic year.

The free meal expenses supported for kindergartens in the province are separately funded by the Office of Education and the city and county governments. The Office of Education supports small-scale kindergartens attached to elementary schools with fewer than 100 students, while the city and county governments support other kindergartens. However, since the support unit price and number of support days vary by city and county, and some do not provide support, there was a need to establish common support standards.

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education decided, after continuous consultations with local governments, to provide a total of 21 billion KRW in free meal expenses to all kindergartens starting from the 2022 academic year.

Since the operation methods and financial support forms differ between public and private kindergartens, the free meal expense support method is divided into two tracks: public and private.

For public kindergartens, personnel and operating expenses are fully supported by the Office of Education, and food expenses are supported based on the number of students, using the same unit price system as elementary schools.

For private kindergartens, a unit price of 3,100 KRW per meal, which integrates food, personnel, and operating expenses, is supported.

The number of support days is provided within the range suitable for each kindergarten: 190 days for public kindergartens attached to elementary schools, 200 days for public standalone kindergartens, and 220 days for private kindergartens. Private kindergartens must spend at least 70% of the support unit price on food expenses to ensure quality meals.

Additionally, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education will increase the purchase cost of excellent ingredients by 100 KRW per meal to 300 KRW to secure the safety of kindergarten (school) meals and realize high-quality meals.

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education advanced the plan for full free school meals in high schools by one year and implemented it in 2021, and also reflected support for alternative schools in the first supplementary budget. Among the free meal expense funds, personnel and operating expenses are fully borne by the Office of Education, while food expenses are jointly shared with local governments.

Lee Seonghee, Director of the Physical Education and Health Division, said, “Starting from the 2022 academic year, by supporting free meal expenses for all kindergartens, we will reduce the economic burden on parents, overcome the low birthrate issue, and provide safe and high-quality meals to foster healthy education in Gyeongbuk.”

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