Gwangju Seo-gu, Full Effort to Support Safe and Healthy School Meals

Published 17 Feb.2023 14:54(KST)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim I-gang) is making every effort to provide safe and healthy meal support for children and adolescents.

On the 17th, according to Seo-gu, Mayor Kim I-gang visited the Seo-gu School Meal Support Center and Seo-gu Children and Social Welfare Meal Management Support Center the day before, received reports on the status of school meal support and institution operations, and exchanged opinions on the supply of safe and healthy food and ways to expand the participation of local farms.

Seo-gu Mayor Kim Ikang visited the Seo-gu School Meal Support Center and the Seo-gu Children and Social Welfare Meal Management Support Center on the 16th.
[Photo by Seo-gu]

The Seo-gu School Meal Support Center supplies 249 types of ingredients to 52 elementary, middle, and high schools in the district, and the participating local farms number 57 from Gwangju, Jeonnam, and other areas.

In particular, the center is making efforts to stably supply excellent food products produced locally, such as eco-friendly agricultural products and local processed goods.

Mayor Kim emphasized, “Through expanding the participating farms in Seo-gu, establishing cooperation plans for urban-rural win-win, and preparing detailed inspection standards for eco-friendly ingredients, children should eat safe meals, and local farms should enhance the region’s competitiveness by securing stable sales channels.”

Following this, Mayor Kim visited the Seo-gu Children and Social Welfare Meal Management Support Center, received a report on the institution’s operations, and encouraged the staff.

The Seo-gu Children and Social Welfare Meal Management Support Center conducts activities such as meal hygiene and nutrition management, education by target group, menu and information provision for about 300 places including daycare centers, child and adolescent facilities, and welfare facilities for the elderly and disabled.

In particular, it frequently visits meal sites to lead the establishment of a safe meal culture by checking the hygiene of kitchen facilities and equipment, verifying the expiration dates of ingredients, and measuring contamination levels of cooking tools.

It also operates a children’s experience center to promote balanced eating habits and prevent picky eating.

Mayor Kim urged, “As an institution responsible for the health and safety of children, please always keep your eyes and ears open on site, communicate, and carry out your duties with an open mind.”