Concerns have been raised about the inadequacy of the lunch support program for elementary after-school care classrooms during vacation, which is being promoted by the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education.
On the 4th, Kim Nayoon, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party, Buk-gu 6), stated during the administrative audit of the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, “Although 6,071 students from 152 schools used the lunch support program during vacation care, only 12 suppliers were organized by the Office of Education. Moreover, four schools without nearby suppliers had to support lunches through self-contracts, and the small number of suppliers handling many schools causes physical difficulties.”
Analyzing the administrative audit data submitted by the Office of Education, Councilor Kim found that among 16 suppliers including self-contracting schools, six suppliers contracted with 91 schools to provide lunches, accounting for 60% of the total 152 schools.
Councilor Kim pointed out, “Suppliers with poor delivery conditions either use intermediaries or fail to meet delivery times, making it difficult to provide children with quality lunch boxes. More problematic is that although the Office of Education set conditions for outsourced lunch delivery, these are not being followed at the school sites, resulting in the burden being shifted to after-school care staff, raising concerns about the decline in the quality of care services.”
The Office of Education requires suppliers to submit meal plans at least one month in advance, provide vehicle transportation, bear the costs of leftover collection and food waste disposal, and notify information about allergenic foods as delivery conditions. However, at the school sites, these delivery conditions are not properly observed, causing after-school care staff to repeatedly urge for meal plan information or take home food waste due to uncollected leftovers, increasing unnecessary tasks.
Councilor Kim emphasized, “Among the 16 outsourced lunch suppliers, only five have HACCP certification. To provide safe food, the Office of Education must more actively discover high-quality suppliers,” and added, “Strict enforcement of delivery conditions must accompany the provision of meal plans suitable for lower elementary grades and safe food.”
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