Initiative to provide eco-friendly produce to residents in need, no application required

E-mart CEO Han Chae-yang (from left), Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae and Gyeonggi Province Social Welfare Council Chairman Jeon Chang-ho pose for a photo at the signing ceremony for the "Sinseuhan Geuyang Deurim" program held Tuesday at the Gwangmyeong Food Bank Market Center in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province. [E-mart]
E-mart CEO Han Chae-yang (from left), Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae and Gyeonggi Province Social Welfare Council Chairman Jeon Chang-ho pose for a photo at the signing ceremony for the "Sinseuhan Geuyang Deurim" program held Tuesday at the Gwangmyeong Food Bank Market Center in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province. [E-mart]

E-mart announced Wednesday it has joined forces with Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Province Social Welfare Council to launch a free grocery support program aimed at helping vulnerable residents eat well and supporting local eco-friendly farms.

E-mart signed an MOU with Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Province Social Welfare Council on Tuesday at the Gwangmyeong Food Bank Market Center in Gwangmyeong. The signing was attended by E-mart CEO Han Chae-yang, Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won and Gyeonggi Province Social Welfare Council Chairman Jeon Chang-ho.

Under the program, E-mart's donations will be used to purchase eco-friendly produce, which will then be distributed to participants in Gyeonggi Province's "Geuyang Deurim" welfare initiative — a provincial program that allows residents facing financial hardship to receive groceries and daily necessities without income verification or a formal application process.

E-mart will contribute 200 million won ($147,000) annually for three years starting this year, for a total of 600 million won. The Gyeonggi Province Social Welfare Council will use the funds in cooperation with the Gyeonggi Agricultural and Marine Products Agency to purchase eco-friendly produce and deliver it through 21 distribution sites across 17 cities and counties in the province.

The program builds on the "Fresh Table" initiative that E-mart and Gyeonggi Province launched in 2023, under which E-mart provided a total of 600 million won over three years.

E-mart has supported vulnerable households in the region with food and daily necessities through its Hope Delivery Wagon program since 2013. Combined with the Fresh Table initiative, the company has provided about 3.4 billion won in support to a cumulative total of roughly 92,000 households. E-mart and Traders stores in Gyeonggi Province also conduct donation activities in partnership with local welfare organizations, and the company operates 19 children's libraries across the province.

"E-mart has continued various social contribution activities with Gyeonggi Province under the philosophy of giving back to the community what we have gained from it," Han said. "We hope this program will become a win-win model that supports healthy eating for vulnerable groups while also helping local farms expand their market reach."

Meanwhile, E-mart has supported about 400,000 vulnerable people nationwide through its Hope Delivery Wagon program since 2012. Since 2006, it has run child sponsorship and patient support programs for low-income families, assisting a cumulative 20,215 children and 1,229 young patients. Its children's reading culture program, which operates library and toy-lending facilities for kids, launched its first location on Jeju in 2007 and now runs 76 sites across the country.


andy@heraldcorp.com