Expansion of Songpa-gu Child Meal Card Merchant Stores to All General Restaurants in Songpa-gu... Why?

Proposal for System Improvement to Seoul District Mayors' Council... Guaranteeing Expanded Choice for Children at Risk of Food Insecurity through Franchise Expansion

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is expanding the affiliated stores for the Child Meal Card to all general restaurants in Songpa-gu to resolve nutritional imbalances among children at risk of food insecurity.

The Child Meal Card is an IC card issued to children at risk of food insecurity as part of the meal support project under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, the number of existing affiliated stores in Songpa-gu was only about 5% of all general restaurants, causing significant inconvenience for users.

In particular, due to the shortage of affiliated stores, convenience store usage was concentrated, making system improvement urgent.

Accordingly, Songpa-gu proposed system improvements to the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors, and by May, the number of Child Meal Card usage locations is expected to increase from the current 294 sites in the area to about 4,500 sites.

Previously, the number of affiliated stores was small because registration was based on business owner applications, but a revolutionary change has occurred through the bulk registration by Shinhan Card, the issuer of the Child Meal Card.

Along with this, to prevent misuse of the Child Meal Card, a full survey of inappropriate businesses such as bars and cafes is underway to exclude them from affiliated stores.

This expansion of affiliated stores is expected to broaden the choices for children at risk of food insecurity, securing quality meals, while also benefiting general food business owners and contributing to revitalizing the local economy.

Mayor Park Seong-su said, “I hope that this expansion of affiliated stores will provide children at risk of food insecurity with wider choices and help them grow up healthily.” He added, “We will continue to focus Songpa-gu’s capabilities to expand and protect the rights of children and youth.”

Meanwhile, Songpa-gu has submitted a proposal to the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors to raise the Child Meal support unit price from the current 6,000 won to 8,000 won along with the expansion of affiliated stores.

This year, Songpa-gu’s budget for child meals is 4.4 billion won, of which about 60% is used for the Child Meal Card.