School Meals Also Respond to COVID-19... Sandwiches, Bread, and Rice Cakes as 'Crisis Preparedness Food' Possible

Publication of COVID-19 School Meals and Nutrition & Dietary Education Materials Collection
Ready-to-eat 'Crisis Preparedness Meals', Time-saving 'Crisis Response Meals', etc.
Guidance on Menus and Dining Etiquette for Infectious Disease Prevention

Collection of Crisis Preparedness Meals and Crisis Response Meals Introduced in School Meals and Nutrition·Dietary Education Materials for the COVID-19 Era: Home Notice Guide

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has established guidelines to provide safe school meals during the COVID-19 era.

On the 4th, the School Health Promotion Institute under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it has developed and distributed the nation's first "Collection of School Meal, Nutrition, and Dietary Education Materials for the COVID-19 Era" to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The School Health Promotion Institute introduced examples of school meal menu guidance and home communication letters, explaining that depending on the COVID-19 infectious disease situation, "Crisis Preparedness Meals" and "Crisis Response Meals" can be provided to ensure safety for students and kitchen staff. Crisis Preparedness Meals refer to short-term meals provided for 1 to 3 days depending on meal operation conditions, consisting mainly of ready-made products such as sandwiches, bread, and rice cakes. Crisis Response Meals are meals designed to reduce exposure to infectious disease risk factors by shortening cooking, serving, and meal times while meeting nutritional standards and preferences.

Along with this, they urged adherence to school meal etiquette such as ventilating before meals, disinfecting desks and partitions before meals, washing hands, not sharing food during meals, and wearing masks outside of meal times. The use of drinking fountains is prohibited, personal water bottles are recommended, and bringing personal utensils is allowed only for those who wish to do so.

At the severe stage of the COVID-19 crisis alert, the materials include tailored nutrition and dietary education for different groups to prevent student infectious diseases through school meals, as well as Q&A sharing information on COVID-19 response school meals. These materials will be distributed to schools under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education from the 8th to the 19th and can also be downloaded as PDF files from the Seoul School Meal Portal.

The School Health Promotion Institute plans to conduct specialized training on infectious disease response school meals, including COVID-19, for school meal personnel.