"No Child Left Hungry During Lunar New Year Holiday"... Choi Hojung, Chairperson of Seoul City Council, Conducts On-site Inspection of Child Meal Cards

On-site Visit to CU Convenience Store for Seoul Dream Tree Card Use on the 20th: Lunchbox Inspection, Listening to Cases, and Offering Encouragement
Support for Over 27,000 Children During Vacation... Certificate of Appreciation Presented to BGF Retail (CU) for Active Participation Including Online Payment System

‘Are there children who feel sad about the long holiday instead?’...

Choi Hojung, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, visited a CU convenience store on the 20th, where the Seoul Dream Tree Card (Child Meal Card) is used, to check whether meals for children at risk of food insecurity are being properly provided ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday.

Currently, the number of children at risk of food insecurity supported by Seoul City is 24,753 during the school term and 27,215 during vacation. This year, Seoul City raised the meal allowance per meal from 9,000 KRW to 9,500 KRW, supporting breakfast and dinner during the school term (lunch supported by the Office of Education), and breakfast, lunch, and dinner during vacation. Children at risk of food insecurity can receive lunchbox deliveries or use the meal card at general restaurants such as Korean and Chinese restaurants, bakeries, and convenience stores.

Joining the site visit were Kim Youngok, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Health and Welfare Committee; Park Sanghyuk, Chairperson of the Education Committee; Jeong Geunsik, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education; and Kim Seonsun, Director of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Women and Family.

Chairperson Choi purchased a lunchbox within the 9,500 KRW limit at the convenience store, as children at risk of food insecurity would, and tasted it, while listening to on-site voices from the convenience store owner about the children’s usage cases.

Chairperson Choi said, “I will check on-site whether children at risk of food insecurity face any difficulties using the Child Meal Card, and if there are areas that need improvement, I will work with related agencies to make improvements. In particular, I will pay more attention to ensuring that children, who need to grow healthily, can have nutritionally balanced meals.”

She added, “While one meal is important, I hope that when using the Child Meal Card, children can fully feel the warm care from society. We will also communicate and cooperate closely with related agencies on this aspect to expand positive influence.”

Before the site visit, Chairperson Choi presented a certificate of appreciation to BGF Retail, which actively participates in the Child Meal Card program. BGF Retail has established an online payment system allowing children to make advance reservations and purchase at discounted prices, and has actively cooperated by accepting children’s requests to purchase snacks as well.

At the award ceremony, Lim Minjae, Executive Director of BGF Retail, attended and received the certificate of appreciation.

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