New Taipei's free nutritious lunches on the road have been criticized for poor quality, and lawmakers call for improvements

New Taipei City's "free nutritious lunch" has been on the road since August 31. However, New Taipei City Councilor Dai Weishan said at the general inquiry today that the meal fee has been raised to 75 yuan, but some students and parents have reported to her that it is unpalatable and they have complained a lot. This problem must be solved; New Taipei City Mayor Hou Youyi said that the free lunch It does not mean that the quality can be discounted. Since the beginning of the school year, he has been keeping a close eye on the quality of nutritious lunches. He will conduct rolling reviews and take into account everyone's opinions to make better. Zhang Mingwen, the director of education, said that he is currently working hard to improve the quality of nutritious lunches. The practices of foreign countries such as Japan and South Korea can be used as a reference in the future.

Dai Weishan said that when children don’t want to eat, parents will worry that if they don’t eat enough, they will not be able to learn well. Some parents are now starting to bring lunch boxes for their children, but the school does not have steamed rice boxes. This is a vicious circle. The meal fee has been raised to 75 yuan, but the food has become unpalatable. This problem must be solved.

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Hou Youyi responded that free food does not mean that the quality can be discounted, especially if it is not better than what parents pay for. Since August 31, he has been paying close attention to the quality of nutritious lunches, eating safely, healthily and nutritiously, and doing his best to ensure that they are done right. He said that nutrition is still the most important, and every child has a different perception of taste. "We will continue to review on a rolling basis." It has only been more than two weeks since school started. He is checking the situation every day and will definitely refer to the voices of many people to see how to do it.

Dai pointed out that Hou Youyi recently went to South Korea to inspect and refer to South Korea's introduction of AI technology for nutritious lunches to confirm what vegetables are left over for children every day, accurately analyze and reduce food waste, and dynamically adjust menus. Should New Taipei City introduce advanced methods like South Korea's?

Zhang Mingwen said that South Korea has been implementing it for 10 to 20 years, and its characteristic is to set up separate restaurants. The practices of foreign countries such as Japan and South Korea can be used as a reference in the future. The quality of nutritious lunches and related supporting facilities, such as the increase of independent lunch kitchens, are currently being worked on and will take time; as long as parents demand it, schools will definitely provide steamed rice boxes.

Dai Weishan said that some children are vegetarian, and some parents reported to her that the kindergarten was unwilling to order vegetarian meals for their children. Instead, parents had to deliver them themselves, or had to ask a vegetarian shop to deliver them on their behalf, which was very inconvenient. Obviously, the school should help solve the problem. This situation exists in more than one school. Can it be solved?

Zhang Mingwen explained that the central group meals will definitely provide vegetarian meals. Self-service lunches may have limited manpower, and the Education Bureau will definitely require schools to order them on their behalf. If there is still no way to solve the problem of free lunch, just like in the past, students will be provided with meal subsidies, and the Education Bureau will definitely require schools to implement it.