City to increase food costs by 15% for growing children, aiming for No. 1 ranking among special and metropolitan cities
Daejeon announced Thursday it will raise the average per-meal food cost for its free school lunch program by 15% to ensure safe ingredients and a stable supply chain for school-age children.
The increase will bring the total project budget to 113 billion won ($84.6 million), with the city's share rising by 4.8 billion won from the previous year to 44.8 billion won. The program covers 141,593 students across 313 elementary, middle and high schools, providing one meal per school day during the academic term.
Under the funding arrangement, the city covers 35% of costs for elementary and middle schools, with district offices contributing 15% and the city's education office covering the remaining 50%. For high schools, the city and the education office each bear 50%.
With the 15% increase applied, the average per-meal food cost — including a 380-won subsidy for eco-friendly and premium ingredients — will reach 4,874 won.
Compared against the projected 2027 national average for school meal food costs, Daejeon is expected to rank sixth among 16 cities and provinces nationwide and first among special and metropolitan cities. The increase must still clear budget deliberations and a vote by the Daejeon City Council before taking effect.
Alongside this, the city plans to strengthen ingredient quality and supply stability through a joint purchasing support project involving 249 schools.
The city also said it will continue conducting inspections of school meal suppliers and safety testing of ingredients to identify and block potential hazards at the retail and distribution stage, with the goal of creating a meal environment that students and parents can trust.
Nam Si-deok, director of the Daejeon Metropolitan City Health and Medical Bureau, said school meals are a vital education and welfare policy that underpins the nutrition and health of growing children, making their well-being the top priority. "We will do our utmost to ensure every student receives healthy and safe school meals through the supply of quality ingredients and rigorous safety management," Nam said.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
