Announced the’Comprehensive Plan for Safe Kindergarten Meal’ by the Seoul Office of Education
Jo Hee-yeon “The new mayor of Seoul should make the top priority for free meals”
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When Seoul Superintendent Jo Hee-yeon announced a plan to manage kindergarten food hygiene, he insisted that kindergartens should also provide free meals.
On the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced the’Comprehensive Kindergarten Safe Meal Plan (2021~2025)’, which included the follow-up measures to amend the Enforcement Decree of the School Meal Act.
From the 30th of last month, due to the revision of the enforcement decree, all public kindergartens and private kindergartens with more than 100 children were included in the School Meal Act. For kindergartens with 100 or more children equipped with feeding facilities and facilities, one nutrition teacher is assigned, but if there are more than 100 and less than 200, two nutrition teachers in the jurisdiction of the same Office of Education may jointly have one nutrition teacher.
According to the plan, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education operates a’Relief Meal Support Group’ composed of external experts such as nutrition teachers and professors to provide consulting and mentoring to kindergartens. Food poisoning prevention and nutrition management education is provided to the kindergarten director and food service personnel, and checks and guidance for compliance with the standards for life and safety management.
For 265 private kindergartens with fewer than 100 children excluded from the School Meal Act, the relevant guidelines help hygiene management and provide standardized diet and nutrition information. Small private kindergartens will be guided by mandatory registration at the’Children’s Food Management Support Center’ by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety by December 30 this year.
Hygiene education will also be strengthened for kindergarten managers, nutrition teachers, nutritionists, and cooks from March to November. Health checkups of workers are conducted every 6 months and records are kept for 2 years. Before cooking every day, a hygiene manager checks the health status of the cooking worker, and if there are symptoms of suspicious food poisoning or a wound on the hand, it is excluded from cooking or serving.
Each private kindergarten is also providing financial support by paying up to 5 million won each so that it can be used to purchase cookware. For single- and attached kindergartens, the cost of purchasing transport equipment for classroom meals and meals for meals at an appropriate temperature is paid. An adjunct allowance of 600,000 won per person per year is provided to the food service personnel of public co-cooking kindergartens.
On that day, Superintendent Cho insisted that, after free meals for elementary, middle and high schools were fully implemented in Seoul this year, kindergartens should also be included. Seoul provided free meals in 2011 when former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was elected. Currently, 1,348 elementary, middle and high schools, and 835,000 people are eligible for free meals. Kindergarten meals are individually borne by parents.
The Office of Education estimates that the cost of free meals for kindergartens in Seoul will reach 83.4 billion won. Superintendent Cho said, “After 10 years have passed since the first introduction of free meals in Seoul, school meals have become a major pillar of universal welfare.” I propose to establish a framework for consultation with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education as soon as possible.”
/ Reporter Kim Chang-young [email protected]
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