Nowon-gu, Operation of Nutrition Programs by Life Cycle

Expanding Nutrition Management from Vulnerable Groups to All Residents in Response to Increased Life Expectancy

Establishing a Systematic Framework through Life Cycle Customized Nutrition Programs

‘Gamseong Kitchen I am’ Expands Support Targets Compared to Last Year

‘Al.Sseul.Sin.Yeong. (Useful and Innovative Nutrition Knowledge)’ for Middle School Students with Low Vegetable Intake

Emotional Kitchen

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is expanding life cycle customized nutrition management programs to improve the health of its residents.

In line with the societal trend toward a life expectancy of 120 years due to accelerating low birth rates and aging population, the nutrition management project, which was originally focused on economically vulnerable groups, will be expanded to include all residents, adding diversity to the support content and methods for each life cycle stage.

The existing projects focused on direct nutrition management through food provision targeting vulnerable groups.

Representative programs include ▲‘Nutrition Plus,’ which provides 11 types of customized supplementary foods based on individual nutritional assessments for pregnant and nursing mothers and infants under 80% of the median income, and ▲‘Kids, Eat Fruit and Play,’ which provides seasonal fruits twice a week to children at local community child centers to increase fruit consumption rates.

The life cycle nutrition programs are ‘Gamseong Kitchen I am’ and ‘Al.Sseul.Sin.Yeong. (Useful and Innovative Nutrition Knowledge).’

‘Gamseong Kitchen I am,’ which expands its support targets compared to last year, operates under the slogan ‘A Precious Meal for Me Who Eats Alone,’ offering weekly cooking classes to help healthy nutrition intake for single-person households among young adults and seniors. Rather than simple cooking practice using seasonal ingredients, the program includes club meetings and Polaroid photo sessions to educate participants on the importance of regular and balanced eating habits. It is held every Friday in the cooking room on the 2nd floor of Madeul Health Center, with registration on a first-come, first-served basis via internet or phone, and the program is completely free of charge.

‘Al.Sseul.Sin.Yeong. (Useful and Innovative Nutrition Knowledge)’ is a nutrition education program for middle school students with low vegetable intake, where professional nutrition instructors visit schools to provide experiential education aimed at reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable eating habits.

In particular, linked with education encouraging plant-based diets to reduce carbon emissions, the program runs a dietary certification campaign called the ‘Meat Free Challenge.’ Students can share ‘certification photos of reducing meat consumption and diversifying vegetable and fruit intake’ in school-specific open chat rooms, encouraging natural participation and awareness improvement among students.

This project is based on the results of the ‘2022 Nowon-gu Dietary Behavior’ survey conducted among 333 graduates of the Gamseong Kitchen I am program last year. The survey showed a relatively high meal skipping rate of 53.3% among single-person households, with main reasons being ‘lack of cooking knowledge’ and ‘disliking eating alone.’ However, after completing the program, many participants expressed that “I gained confidence in cooking and developed a desire to treat myself,” leading to the expansion of support this year to include single-person households in their 20s and 30s.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, stated, “We will establish and implement a systematic nutrition management system from infancy to old age to ensure a happy and healthy life for Nowon residents.”

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