Seoul City Applies 'Three-Strikes Rule' to 'Eco-Friendly Kindergarten Meals'... Supply Starts from 2nd

Space Established for Kindergarten Meal Support within 'Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 1st that the “Eco-friendly Kindergarten Meals” service, starting from the 2nd, will prioritize the stable supply of safe eco-friendly ingredients by applying the same ingredient safety management system currently used for elementary, middle, high, and special schools to kindergartens.

Seoul City plans to provide a separate space within the “Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center,” operated by the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation, to support kindergarten meals. They will operate a public procurement system similar to that used for school meals to supply safe and high-quality eco-friendly ingredients. The strict “Three Strikes Out” policy will also be applied equally to organizations that supply agricultural products failing pesticide residue inspections.

Considering the different circumstances of kindergartens compared to schools, delivery efficiency will also be improved. Since the daily quantity of ingredients for kindergartens is relatively small compared to schools, agricultural, fishery, and livestock products will be delivered in integrated bulk shipments rather than individual deliveries according to the size of each kindergarten.

Kindergartens wishing to receive fresh and safe eco-friendly ingredients through the “Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center” can submit an application form to the center. Seoul City completed system checks for kindergarten meals last month and sent usage and application notices to all kindergartens in the jurisdiction.

Furthermore, Seoul City will take responsibility for fostering healthy eating habits among kindergarten children. They will develop dietary education content tailored to young children’s perspectives and support the experiential education program called the “Visiting Dietary Education Program.”

Close communication will also be facilitated among kindergarten stakeholders, including principals, nutritionists, teachers, parents, and agricultural and livestock producers. This will be encouraged through various methods such as stakeholder education, empathy talks, and policy discussion forums.

Since Mayor Oh announced in May last year the rapid promotion of kindergarten meals, a task force (TF) team has been formed to discuss support measures for meals. In December, Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, and Lee Sung, Chairman of the Seoul District Mayors Association, signed a “Business Agreement for the Implementation of Free Eco-friendly Kindergarten Meals.”

Lee Dae-hyun, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Lifelong Education Bureau, said, “Eco-friendly meals, which have been provided in all schools in Seoul, will be expanded to kindergartens starting this year. We expect that young children will receive healthy and equitable lunches, and families’ burdens will be reduced. We will do our best to ensure stable ingredient supply and communication with related organizations and parents so that Seoul’s school meals, which have been highly satisfactory for their safety and healthiness, will also be loved by young children.”

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