Gyeonggi Province to Strengthen Residents' Dietary Education This Year... Triples Budget Compared to Last Year

Gyeonggi Province will increase its budget for dietary education this year to 1.07 billion won, roughly tripling the previous amount.

On April 14, Gyeonggi Province announced that it decided to expand the budget as the dietary environment is rapidly changing due to the rising number of one- and two-person households and the spread of convenience food consumption, resulting in continued nutritional imbalances among vulnerable groups.

With the expanded budget, Gyeonggi Province will shift its dietary education policy this year from simple, experience-based education to programs aimed at actually improving the eating habits of vulnerable groups. The province will also provide group education sessions and customized home-visit education for recipients of the agri-food voucher program.

The agri-food voucher program is a government initiative that supports healthy meals for low-income households by providing vouchers (in the form of a card) to purchase fresh agricultural, livestock, and fishery products. Households must meet both income and family composition criteria to qualify. The income requirement applies to low-income households at or below 32% of the median income. The family composition criteria include households receiving livelihood benefits with pregnant women, infants, or children under 18, as well as households with youth aged 34 or younger.

Dietary Education Guide Poster of Gyeonggi Province

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Gyeonggi Province plans to establish an educational system that brings about behavioral changes in daily life by providing both outreach education and home-visit consultations, focusing on vulnerable groups such as low-income individuals and the elderly.

Customized dietary education will be provided throughout the entire life cycle, from infants to the elderly. For infants and toddlers, education will focus on forming healthy eating habits through sensory experiences, while children and adolescents will participate in programs covering the entire process from food production to consumption.

Youth and single-person households will receive cooking practice and carbon-neutrality education; middle-aged adults will participate in family-centered food culture education; and the elderly will be supported with education focused on healthy meal planning.

Paek Jongmin, Director of the Department of Agricultural, Marine, and Life Sciences at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This project is not just about expanding education but is a policy shift focused on creating real changes in residents' dietary habits," adding, "We will pursue a highly practical policy by supporting vulnerable groups and establishing a virtuous local food cycle at the same time."

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