Operation of Children's Cafeterias at 3 i-Hyu Centers, Price Reduced from 3,500 KRW to 2,500 KRW
Available to All Local Elementary School Students Regardless of Center Usage or Income Level
One Meal with Three Side Dishes, Cooked Daily with Eco-Friendly Agricultural Products; One More Children's Cafeteria to Open in June
Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that starting from the 13th, the usage fee for the 'Children's Cafeteria,' one of the district's representative child care projects, will be reduced.
Currently, Nowon-gu operates 27 'i-Hyu Centers,' which are after-school care centers for elementary school students. Among them, three centers?Sanggye Doosan, Nowon, and Hagye Eoullim i-Hyu Centers?are larger-scale 'Integrated i-Hyu Centers' that include children's cafeterias within the centers, providing dinner during the school term and lunch during vacations.
Users of the children's cafeterias are elementary school students from grades 1 to 6 in the area, categorized as ▲children receiving regular care at the Integrated i-Hyu Centers ▲children receiving temporary care on specific days due to parental circumstances ▲external children not using the Integrated i-Hyu Centers.
Excluding regular care children whose monthly fee includes meal costs, temporary care children have been paying 2,500 KRW for meals and care, while external children have been paying 3,500 KRW for meals. This affordable pricing has received enthusiastic support from parents who feel assured feeding their children.
Accordingly, the district decided to expand the program to allow more children to use it. From the 13th, the district will increase its share of the meal cost and unify the usage fee for temporary care and external children so that anyone can have a meal for just 2,500 KRW regardless of center usage. This is among the lowest prices not only compared to commercial restaurants but also among meal care programs operated by autonomous districts.
The children's cafeterias provide three side dishes made daily from eco-friendly agricultural products. One nutritionist and six cooks work to ensure balanced intake of essential nutrients for growing children.
The children's cafeterias operate by advance reservation. Temporary care, which provides both meals and care, can be reserved through the Our Neighborhood Care Center website, and those who wish to use only the children's cafeteria can apply by phone to each i-Hyu Center three days before the intended date of use.
The district started operating elementary after-school care centers nationwide for the first time in 2018, which became the model for Seoul's 'Our Neighborhood Care Centers' and spread to all autonomous districts. For a monthly fee of 20,000 KRW, children can be safely entrusted from 12 PM to 8 PM during the school term and from 9 AM to 8 PM during vacations.
Nowon-gu currently operates the largest number of after-school elementary care centers among Seoul's autonomous districts, and in June, plans to open an additional Integrated i-Hyu Center and children's cafeteria in Sanggye 3 and 4-dong to support more children growing up healthily under public care.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Despite the era of high prices, we decided to expand the children's cafeterias because we want to properly take care of our children's meals.” He added, “We will continue to strengthen public care to reduce the care burden on parents.”
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