Seoul School Meal Prices Increased by 6-7.3%... Support Also Provided for Special School Itinerant Education Students

'Announcement of the "2022 School Year Kindergarten and School Meal Basic Directions"
Per Meal: Elementary 5,256 KRW, Middle 6,043 KRW, High 6,225 KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will provide school meals to students receiving itinerant education at special schools. Support funds for non-genetically modified ingredients will also be included in food expenses.

On the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced the "2022 Academic Year Kindergarten and School Meal Basic Directions," outlining the meal operation plan for students in kindergartens, elementary, middle, high, special, and various schools.

The unit cost of school meals (food management costs, labor costs) will increase by 6 to 7.3% per school compared to last year. The cost per meal per person is 5,256 KRW for elementary, 6,043 KRW for middle, 6,225 KRW for high, and 5,801 KRW for special schools. Kindergarten meal costs are 3,711 KRW for public kindergartens (labor costs supported separately) and 5,572 KRW for private kindergartens. The budget is allocated based on unit costs, and support is divided into five tiers by school level and three tiers for kindergartens according to the actual number of meal participants.

This year’s total expenditure amounts to 930.2 billion KRW, including 856.4 billion KRW for school meals and 73.8 billion KRW for kindergartens. The funding is shared by the Office of Education with 511.6 billion KRW, Seoul City with 251.2 billion KRW, and autonomous districts with 167.4 billion KRW each.

Starting this year, students who cannot attend school due to severe disabilities and receive special education from itinerant teachers at home or other locations, as well as students who must consume food via gastrostomy, will also receive meal support through a separate method.

Additionally, to realize the "Five No’s" (no residual pesticides, no radiation, no antibiotics, no chemically synthesized additives, and no GMO) in school meals, the Office of Education will include support funds for non-genetically modified (Non-GMO) ingredients in food expenses for the first time since the start of school meals. It is expected to cost about 9 billion KRW annually, with 45 KRW per meal for elementary and special schools, 69 KRW for middle schools, and 45 KRW for high schools per student.

Furthermore, the use of detergents in school kitchens will be posted on school websites, and the price of milk will be increased by 50 KRW per unit.

The School Meal Act applies to kindergartens with 100 or more children, but meal costs will be supported under the same standards for private kindergartens with fewer than 100 children as well.

In the first year of kindergarten meal support, the Office encourages the use of eco-friendly ingredients for more than 40% of total agricultural product purchases, with plans to gradually increase this to over 70% by 2025.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "This year marks the completion of free meals with the implementation of free kindergarten meals. We will realize responsible meals without discrimination, eco-friendly meals that consider students’ health, and safe meals that are comfortable and trusted to promote student health and school meal safety management."

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