Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Launches 'Happiness Plus Sharing Side Dishes' Project

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 7th that it will implement the ‘Happiness Plus Sharing Side Dishes’ project, which provides side dishes from the district office cafeteria to employees.

Gwangsan-gu planned this project with the aim of saving about 60% of the annual food waste disposal cost of approximately 4.6 million won and reducing environmental pollution.

It is also expected to reduce employees’ worries about preparing side dishes at home, decrease food waste, and encourage small donations.

The district office cafeteria on the basement first floor of Gwangsan-gu Office prepares an average of 520 lunch servings daily from Monday to Friday.

Until now, leftover food after employees’ lunch has been entirely discarded as food waste.

From now on, employees who need side dishes can pay a small voluntary donation at an unmanned sharing side dish booth and take the food.

Gwangsan-gu expects that dual-income couples and single employees will frequently use this booth.

A Gwangsan-gu official said, “We will achieve a triple effect by enabling the reuse of side dishes prepared for employees to reduce their household labor, alleviate concerns about environmental pollution, and spread a culture of donation within the public service community.”