Seocho-gu Provides 9,000 Won Meal Allowance for Low-Income Children, Highest Nationwide
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu provides a child meal support card worth 9,000 KRW, the highest level nationwide, to resolve nutritional imbalances among low-income children and allow them to enjoy a variety of menus freely.
Seoul City's Meal Support Card for Children at Risk of Food Shortage (Kkumnamu Card) is given to children and adolescents under 18 years old who are at risk of food insecurity.
However, the unit price of Seoul City's meal support card is only 6,000 KRW, making it difficult for children to have proper meals.
In particular, a typical meal at a regular restaurant these days costs around 7,000 to 8,000 KRW, so with only 6,000 KRW, the options are limited, and children mostly rely on convenience stores.
When children crowd convenience stores like this, it not only leads to nutritional imbalance but also often results in children eating alone, raising concerns about emotional deprivation.
Accordingly, Seocho-gu supports meal cards worth 9,000 KRW, the highest level nationwide including Seoul's autonomous districts, for 630 children at risk of food shortage.
While most autonomous districts in Seoul provide 6,000 KRW, Seocho-gu has continuously increased the amount to 7,000 KRW in 2019 and 9,000 KRW in 2020, expanding choices for low-income children and prioritizing their health by enabling them to use regular restaurants to resolve nutritional imbalances and enjoy healthy meals with peace of mind.
Seocho-gu is also continuously expanding affiliated stores for the meal card to provide diverse and healthy meals. The number of affiliated stores increased from 28 in 2018 to 128 in 2019 through cooperation with the Korea Foodservice Industry Association Seocho Branch, and in 2020, by hiring a dedicated staff for discovering affiliated stores, it dramatically expanded by 196% to 379 stores.
Considering children's preferences and health, many regular restaurants including Korean, Chinese, Western, and snack food establishments are registered as affiliated stores, allowing children to comfortably enjoy their desired menus close to home.
Kim, a 16-year-old living in Bangbae-dong, said, “Convenience store food is convenient with 6,000 KRW but quickly gets boring, and even a bowl of Jajangmyeon is hard to afford. With 9,000 KRW, I can enjoy a wide variety of menus at restaurants, and especially sometimes I can eat meat dishes that are hard to have at home, which is great.” He welcomed the district’s policy that helps provide warm and healthy meals.
Meanwhile, as COVID-19 prolongs, home-delivered home-cooked meal lunchboxes priced at 9,000 KRW are gaining great popularity among families wishing for delivery.
A district official said, “We will continue to carefully support children with a mother’s heart so that they can freely pursue their dreams without worrying about meals.”
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