Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center Supplies School Meal Ingredients to 1,047 Schools This Year

From March, food supply to 1,047 schools in Seoul, covering 77% of school meals... Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center "We will do our best to improve services such as ensuring food safety and reasonable prices for students this year as well"

Ingredient Safety Inspection

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation (President Moon Young-pyo), which operates the Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center, began accepting applications from elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul wishing to receive food ingredient supplies through the center starting January 18 this year.

As a result of the application process, during the regular application period (January 18 to February 14, 3 weeks), 1,025 schools applied, and an additional 22 schools applied during the occasional application period in February, totaling 1,047 schools applying to use the center.

This represents about 77% of all schools conducting school meals in Seoul, and compared to 1,033 schools using the center during the same period last year, it is an increase of 14 schools.

By school type, there are 586 elementary schools, 268 middle schools, 161 high schools, and 32 special schools; by usage category, 1,013 schools for agricultural products, 906 for livestock products, and 957 for marine products.

Schools applying to use the center can designate or delegate their preferred suppliers in order of priority from 1 to 4. The overall ratio of supplier designation and delegation is 81.3% and 18.7%, respectively, with the designation ratio increasing by 2.8% compared to the previous year.

This suggests that as schools use the center repeatedly, they develop preferred suppliers.

Currently, the center has selected, manages, and operates 20 agricultural product suppliers, 17 livestock product suppliers, and 9 marine product suppliers, and has completed the assignment of suppliers for the categories requested by the 1,047 applicant schools. The center supplies not only agricultural, livestock, and marine products but also processed agricultural products and grains.

Kim Dae-young, Director of the Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center, said, “We thank the schools in Seoul that trusted and applied to use the center,” adding, “To improve the satisfaction of schools using the center, we will do our best not only to ensure the safety of food ingredients, which is the highest value in center operation, but also to provide reasonable prices, high-quality ingredients, and service improvements.”

The Seoul Eco-friendly Distribution Center is a public procurement facility operated by the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation, an institution under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which was entrusted with the operation of the center by Seoul City. Established in 2010 as the nation’s first to secure safety and transparency for school meal ingredients, it aims to provide healthy meal ingredients to growing students.

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