Jeonnam Province to Provide Free Milk Meals to All Elementary Students in the Province Next Year

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province will expand support for free milk school meals next year to promote milk consumption and stabilize the dairy industry.

The province announced on the 29th that it will invest 11.4 billion KRW (5.8 billion KRW national funds, 1.2 billion KRW provincial funds, 4.4 billion KRW city/county funds) in the school milk supply project next year to provide free milk to 128,000 students in the province, aiming to improve physical strength and resolve nutritional imbalances among growing elementary, middle, and high school students.

In particular, next year, the target for free milk supply in elementary schools within the province will be expanded to include all students.

To this end, the budget for the milk supply project next year will increase by 5.3 billion KRW compared to this year's total budget of 6.1 billion KRW, enabling an additional 71,000 elementary students to benefit from free milk supply.

The basic support recipients of the milk supply project are students enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools who are recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Security, low-income families, single-parent families, and special education students. Until this year, the province has independently expanded support to include students in schools with fewer than 240 students, education expense support recipients, children of national merit recipients, and children from families with three or more children.

With the expansion of the project, all elementary students in Jeonnam Province will receive free milk next year, while middle and high school students will continue under the existing system.

Through this project, students will be supplied with white milk products made from 100% domestic raw milk, including regular white milk, fortified milk, and low-fat milk.

In island and remote areas where supplying white milk is difficult, sterilized milk or powdered milk produced from 100% domestic raw milk will be provided.

The support limit for milk supply is 430 KRW per unit (200ml), and basic support recipients such as National Basic Livelihood Security recipients will receive milk supply for about 250 days annually, including vacation periods. Those who are independently supported by Jeonnam Province will receive support for about 190 days annually, excluding vacation periods.

The expanded free milk supply support is planned to begin in March with the start of the new school year next year.

Kim Kyungho, Director of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Food Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “Through the expansion of milk supply, we will provide essential nutrients to growing students and contribute to the stable development of the dairy industry by increasing milk consumption. We will also establish a close cooperation system with educational institutions to prevent nutritional imbalances among students caused by disruptions in milk supply due to COVID-19.”