Siheung City's "School Meal Surplus Food Donation Project" Wins Grand Prize for Active Administration in Gyeonggi Province

Solving Food Waste and Supporting Vulnerable Groups with Nutritious Meals

Siheung City's "School Meal Surplus Food Donation Project" has won the grand prize at Gyeonggi Province's Active Administration Best Practice Competition.

Officials from Siheung City, who won the Grand Prize at Gyeonggi Province's Active Administration Best Practice Competition, are taking a commemorative photo at the awards ceremony. Photo by Siheung City

This competition aims to discover and share outstanding cases that have resolved inconveniences for Gyeonggi Province residents and driven innovation in public service culture. This year, a total of 18 cases competed in the finals, including 8 from cities and counties and 10 from public institutions. Siheung City was selected as the grand prize winner in the City/County Group A category.

The award-winning "School Meal Surplus Food Donation Project" provides surplus school meals made from eco-friendly ingredients to vulnerable groups in the community, such as young and middle-aged adults and the elderly. The project was highly praised for simultaneously addressing two challenges: reducing food waste and supporting food security for vulnerable populations.

In particular, despite the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's legal interpretation that "donating unserved school meals requires caution," the city did not halt the project but instead established hygiene and safety measures. The Siheung City School Meal Support Center ensured the project's safety by establishing step-by-step hygiene guidelines, utilizing school meal delivery companies for safe surplus meal delivery, purchasing product liability insurance, and building a real-time communication system and regional matching process.

Kim Ikkyum, Director of the Siheung City Agricultural Technology Center, stated, "The School Meal Surplus Food Donation Project is a unique achievement of Siheung City's proactive administration, simultaneously promoting environmental protection and social welfare. We will continue to implement active administration in various fields so that residents can experience tangible benefits."