Gyeonggi-do Child Meal Card Expanded to 'Large Mart Food Courts'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is expanding the usage locations of the child meal card to 142 Emart food courts nationwide.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 31st that starting from the 1st of next month, the 'Gyeonggi-do Child Meal Card' (G Dream Card) can be used at 142 Emart food courts across the country.

Emart has completed the development of the Emart POS system and G Dream Card payment tests by the end of this month, and from the 1st of next month, the G Dream Card can be used at 142 branches operating food courts out of 159 Emart stores nationwide. Among these, 46 locations are available within the province.

The meal support project for children at risk of food insecurity is a program where Gyeonggi Province and 31 cities and counties jointly fund meals for children under 18 who are at risk of food insecurity due to poverty, parental unemployment, and other reasons. Support is provided through methods such as the child meal card (G Dream Card), regional children's centers (group meals), and delivery of lunch boxes and side dishes.

Since August 31, 2020, the province has been working to expand affiliated stores by linking the G Dream Card with BC Card's general restaurant franchises (excluding pubs, pojangmacha, cafes, etc.) so that children at risk of food insecurity can eat comfortably without being conscious of their surroundings. Currently, there are about 206,000 affiliated stores available.

Yoo So-jeong, head of the Child Care Division of the province, stated, "At food courts, children can freely choose the foods they prefer, which expands their meal choice rights, and since orders can be made through kiosks enabling contactless payment, it is expected to significantly relieve the psychological burden on children."

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