Kaohsiung City promotes free lunches for public and private primary and secondary schools, emphasizing local fruits and flexible adjustments

Kaohsiung City will provide free lunches to public and private primary and secondary schools starting from this school year. However, due to the restriction of the use of local fruits in Kaohsiung, the Kaohsiung City Teachers Union criticized it as "free = trouble". The Education Bureau emphasized that it will continue to make rolling adjustments based on the actual needs of schools based on the principle of ensuring student nutrition, food safety and a stable supply of lunches.

The Kaohsiung City Education Bureau stated that in principle, school lunch fruits should use local products from Kaohsiung, and vegetables should give priority to local products from Kaohsiung. However, considering the recent climate and agricultural product supply situation, the Agriculture Bureau has informed in a letter that until September 25, the fruits can be flexibly adjusted to domestically produced traceable agricultural products, but after the 25th, local products from Kaohsiung will still need to be used. The assessment is feasible. Vegetables are not restricted to only local products from Kaohsiung, and can be dispatched from other production areas based on actual supply conditions to maintain a stable lunch supply.

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In response to students' needs for vegetable (vegetarian) meals and special meals, schools can provide them on their own based on actual conditions. When facilities and equipment are insufficient, the Education Bureau will assist in responding; if ordering meals on behalf of students, they can inquire about meal provision through the Health Bureau's food safety map or nearby school partners, and continue to strengthen food safety and meal quality management.

As for students who are unable to have meals on campus due to activities such as competitions, off-campus teaching, or graduation trips, the Education Bureau emphasized that schools can order meals on their behalf based on actual needs, and the relevant expenses can be covered by the free lunch subsidy. Procurement and write-off operations are handled by each school in accordance with administrative rights and responsibilities and relevant regulations, taking into account practical needs and the legality of fund use.

In terms of the rights of kitchen workers, the Education Bureau stated that schools can allocate kitchen workers based on the number of people serving meals and actual work needs. The monthly salary of kitchen workers in Gao City's public schools must not be less than 1.1 times the basic salary. In addition, in line with the free lunch policy and reducing the mobility of kitchen workers, kitchen workers are subsidized with half salary during the winter and summer vacations, and lunch fees are waived. If there is a need for work during the winter and summer vacations, the content and time of the work will be negotiated between the employer and the employer and clearly stipulated in the labor contract to take into account school operations and the labor rights of kitchen workers.