Questions/Answers

In introducing its Public Meal Program (PMP), the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) sought to address a number of issues, including: establishing a public supply system that provides affordable and stable supplies of eco-friendly ingredients for meals at daycare centers, child centers, and welfare facilities; ensuring the provision of safe food for everyone in Seoul; and supporting the sustainability of rural communities. The market-led system of meal provision has failed to meet the requirements of public welfare, safety and stability for meals prepared at public facilities. Acknowledging these problems, the SMG and local governments have established a public supply system for bridging the urban-rural divide, named the Public Meal Center, and simplified the food supply and distribution process. The center partnered each self-governing district in Seoul with small and medium-sized family farms in rural areas so that the latter could continue to supply food ingredients at stable prices. Seoul is now able to provide safe and quality ingredients at affordable prices for consumers in need. Participating farms also benefit in terms of having stable sources of income. The increase in demand for eco-friendly farm produce, in return, is expected to prompt a growing number of other farms to switch to eco-friendly agriculture as well. The overall result would be the creation of a food supply system that is sustainable in every sense. Gangdong-gu became the first autonomous district in Seoul to partner up with small farms in Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, in May 2017. The number of participants has been growing since then, with three more districts added in 2018 and another four in 2019. As of October 2019, 13 autonomous districts in Seoul had been matched with rural farms elsewhere in Korea. The SMG’s goal is to expand the program to include all 25 autonomous districts in the city by 2022.

The SMG strives for inclusiveness and equality for all in its policy services. The PMP helps achieve this goal by reducing the cost of eco-friendly food for public facilities, such as daycare centers and other welfare facilities. The city also facilitates these organizations choosing eco-friendly ingredients by subsidizing costs. The program supports small and medium-sized family farms, which struggle with a variety of risks and make up 68 percent of all agricultural establishments in Korea. Direct transaction between these farms and districts in Seoul has given the former stable channels of distribution and income, helping to reduce urban-rural inequality.

The SDGs addressed by the PMP include ending famine, providing safe and nutritious meals, and achieving sustainability in agriculture. The program enhances minority access to safe and nutritious food (2-1) throughout the year by specifically targeting groups at risk of nutritional deprivation, such as young children, seniors, and persons with disabilities. The public meal facilities catering to these groups are open all year round, except for weekends and public holidays. The program supports productivity and income (2-3) of small-scale agricultural producers and enables them to practice resilient agriculture (2-4) by targeting small and medium-sized family farms. The farms enjoy greater stability in production by focusing on eco-friendly produce. The resulting increase in eco-friendly farmland contributes to the resilience and sustainability of agriculture in general. Cognizant of the importance of biodiversity (2-5), the program organizes farms capable of producing small quantities of multiple varieties. Local governments also provide diverse forms of support and infrastructure for sustainable agriculture. To limit fluctuations in food prices, the program has participating farms supply their produce at fixed costs throughout the year. Prices and other matters of import are decided via a public-private partnership of governance in which farmers, consumer representatives and policymakers participate.

The program is socially sustainable as it represents societal consensus on public intervention in ensuring equal access to safe and quality food ingredients. The program is meant primarily to supply quality food for daycares, child centers and other welfare facilities that have been neglected by the market. It is also economically sustainable because: (a) Seoul’s legislature has enacted a municipal statute to ensure stable funding, and (b) the program supports the stability of output and income for farms. Finally, it is environmentally sustainable because it promotes the farming of eco-friendly produce and multiple varieties, which improves soil quality and biodiversity.

Democratic governance has been a principal aim of the PMP, with NGOs, experts, and administrative officials participating in program design. The Metropolitan Ordinance on Support for the Public Meal Program for Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide was then enacted and the Metropolitan Public Meal Committee assembled to review and deliberate on related policy matters. The autonomous districts have also followed suit. Food Safety Guards enable willing parents and caretakers to voluntarily monitor food ingredient safety. Local cooperatives were also invited to participate in district-level public meal centers. The PMP fills a void in public administration and services, first by letting citizens, farmers, social enterprises and local governments reclaim leadership from large corporations over safeguarding the quality and prices of food ingredients for public meals. The Lifelong Education Bureau in the SMG has launched a multidisciplinary system of collaboration with other related departments, local governments, social enterprises and cooperatives to ensure the PMP meets its diverse objectives, including promoting children’s health and bridging the urban-rural divide. Second, prior to program launch, the SMG entered a memorandum of understanding with nine other local governments and organized meetings with local officials and farmers to ensure sustainability of the measures it sought to implement.

First and foremost, equality is the central policy ideal behind the PMP, as the program strives to ensure everyone’s access to quality, affordable food, targeting groups most likely to be disadvantaged in that regard. Second, the program’s end targets are children at daycare and child centers and adults at welfare facilities. There is no gender discrimination involved. The program rather strives to eradicate discrimination that children and other disadvantaged groups may face in accessing healthy food.

The groups that the PMP seeks to benefit are those disadvantaged in accessing healthy food, i.e., children at daycares and child centers and adults at welfare facilities, as well as small and medium-sized farms. For the benefit of these groups, the program first established a specific public food supply system outside market competition so as to improve this access to food. Second, the program coordinates direct transaction of eco-friendly farm produce so as to reduce the costs of supplying such ingredients to these groups. Third, the program helps to bridge the urban-rural divide by supporting small and medium-sized family farms, opening up stable channels of distribution, while direct transactions allow them to earn sufficient income. By establishing a circular local economy in which small and medium-sized farms participate throughout the entire process (from production to distribution and processing), the program increases profits for farmers and reenergizes rural economies.

Officials of involved departments, experts, residents, and other stakeholders were consulted, and existing public meal facilities in Seoul surveyed. Effective measures for ensuring food quality and determining appropriate prices for meals were researched. With a project steering plan established accordingly, Seoul’s legislators enacted a statute to the effect. Then, agreements were signed and a system of partnership established between Seoul and the nine provinces. An e-commerce mall and digital administration system were created to support food ingredient purchases. Finally, Gangdong-gu became the first autonomous district in Seoul to use the PMP in May 2017, with five more districts added later that year. First, local governments capable of meeting Seoul’s demand for quality were chosen as partners and intermediated the matching between Seoul’s districts and local farms. Second, resources for logistics were secured. Public briefings were held on the program and resources recruited in preparation for opening of the Public Meal Center, which has coordinated all purchases and supply of food made under the PMP. Third, dietary education sessions and visits to local farms were organized to increase participation. Gangdong-gu’s experience with the PMP was assessed (February 21 to April 20, 2018) and expert assessment of the program’s impact on consumers and producers was conducted (June 2018 to February 2019). The program is now in the development stage. Nine of Seoul’s autonomous districts participated as of 2018, which grew to 13 by 2019. The SMG’s goal is to increase that number to 16 in 2020, 20 in 2021, and all 25 by 2022. Having established a system for monitoring food safety for public meals (August 9, 2018), the SMG appointed the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment to be responsible for safety inspections and testing (May 2019), in addition to reinforcing quality assurance and assessment at the local government level.

First, it was necessary to minimize possible conflicts with corporate food suppliers and large supermarket chains. Over 150 meetings with these parties were held (March 2016 to April 2017), with some being appointed to the Public Meal Committee and invited to join the Public Meal Center. Second, the SMG introduced Quality Requirements for Food Supply under the PMP. Third, the SMG organized public briefings and incentives to encourage organizations to participate. Fourth, the SMG subsidized operational, shipping, inspection, and testing and distribution expenses of the Public Meal Center and its members to increase income for producers and enhance food quality.

In 2017, Seoul became the first government in Korea to introduce a public system for supplying food for public meals, establishing a mutually beneficial system of direct transaction between urban facilities and rural communities. Second, the program encourages local governments and farms to produce multiple varieties in small quantities, thus helping family farms. Third, the program encourages public facilities in Seoul to switch to eco-friendly ingredients for public meals, thereby encouraging rural communities to attempt eco-friendly farming. Fourth, the SMG organizes dietary education and farm visits to improve public awareness. It also subsidizes ecological farming practices to promote environmental sustainability

The UN SDGs and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP), onto which the SMG signed in October 2015, have inspired the SMG to pursue environmental sustainability, socioeconomic equity, and human rights as the core values of its food policy and system developments, leading the city to introduce comprehensive policy measures encompassing the entire food chain. The city also found inspiration in the practices of Wanju and other local governments emphasizing local food, particularly in their agricultural production systems centered on small family farms and their public procurement systems promoting direct transactions with farmers

The Korean national government and other local governments have benchmarked the PMP. Seoul’s PMP has been praised nationwide for its originality and innovation, as it directly links producers and consumers so that eco-friendly ingredients can be provided at affordable prices for public facilities serving meals. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and other agencies of the national government as well as local governments continue to study the SMG’s PMP, as does the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). First, MAFRA benchmarked the PMP and introduced a pilot project supporting the development of local food plans. Second, KERI has been researching the PMP as a model for efficient government-led food plans. Third, 13 local governments that have partnered with Seoul’s autonomous districts for the PMP have introduced policy measures that encourage small family farms to produce diverse varieties in small quantities, in light of the demands from Seoul, while also increasing the emphasis on safety of the food they produce.

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Fiscal resources invested include subsidies for public meal center operation, shipping costs, safety inspections, and distribution. Subsidization ensures higher incomes for producers and lower prices for quality meals. As public facilities providing meals have limited budgets, the SMG subsidizes KRW 500 per meal for facilities that spend over 60 percent of their monthly meal budgets on ingredients from the Public Meal Center. Human resources include civil servants from various government bodies to form an interdepartmental task force. There are also public meal divisions at the SMG and district governments, operating staff at public meal centers, and the shipping workforce.

The SMG has enabled direct transactions between producers and consumers by subsidizing the costs of establishing and operating district public meal centers, shipping and safety inspections, etc. These subsidies have helped increase income for farmers and improve food quality. Institutional sustainability is ensured by interdepartmental and multidisciplinary collaboration, enabling the program to achieve its diverse objectives for education, children’s health, and rural regeneration. Cooperation with local governments, social enterprises, cooperatives, and others has made it possible to outgrow the corporatized, market-led system of food supply. The agreements and meetings between Seoul’s districts and local governments representing farmers also boost collaboration.

Yes

Korea Management Assessment and Consulting (KMAC) evaluated performance of the trial public meal program in Gangdong-gu, specifically surveying how many daycare centers made use of the program to supply eco-friendly meals, client satisfaction levels and influencing factors, in addition to interviewing producers and consumers. With Consumers, a research and assessment firm, was contracted to measure and analyze the effect of the PMP on producers and consumers. Researchers interviewed officials at district and local public meal centers, polled worker opinions at participating daycare centers, surveyed parental satisfaction, polled and analyzed perceived program effectiveness in improving agricultural production, and interviewed participating farmers.

Assessment of the pilot project involved surveying public meals at daycare centers and daycare worker awareness of the eco-friendly public food supply option. Satisfaction with food ingredient and meal quality, distribution, services, and public awareness of the program was surveyed. Understanding the PMP effect on consumers and producers involved analyzing: (1) supply performance, local business effects, plan execution, and efforts made and needed to advertise the program further; (2) public awareness of the PMP, daycare center satisfaction, satisfaction with dietary education and farm visits; (3) improvements to agricultural production; and (4) influence on farmers and their eco-friendly farming plans.

First, the assessments revealed the importance of persuading Seoul’s citizens of the importance of healthy food, reducing food inequality, and supporting rural communities as key to minimizing conflict. The assessments also recommended increasing stakeholder participation in policymaking, by appointing them to the Public Meal Committee and including them in the Public Meal Center. Second, the assessments highlighted the necessity of public criteria for food quality to ensure ingredient safety. Third, the findings led the SMG to explain the PMP and provide effective incentives for public facilities to join. The SMG also built rapport by organizing dietary education and farm visits. The SMG is also subsidizing the cost of meals provided by public facilities using ingredients purchased under the PMP. Fourth, the findings led the SMG to assemble the Public Meal Price and Quality Committee to coordinate and regulate ingredient prices, in addition to introducing subsidies for operating expenses of public meal centers and shipping, safety inspections and testing and distribution. Fifth, the findings have led the SMG to establish an interdepartmental system of cooperation, headed by the Lifelong Education Bureau, to ensure that the program meets its diverse objectives concerning education, public health, and urban-rural partnership.

The PMP is a public system that directly matches rural producers and urban consumers so that eco-friendly food ingredients can be provided at affordable prices to public facilities serving public meals. It is widely praised in Korea for its originality and innovation. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and other agencies of the Korean government continue to study the program. MAFRA has introduced a pilot project modeled after the PMP, providing support for local government efforts to establish food plans, involving activities for dietary education, trips to farms, and the development of infrastructure for eco-friendly farming. MAFRA supports three metropolitan/provincial governments and 22 local governments as of 2019 under this project, helping the SMG’s model spread nationwide.

In policy design and planning, diverse NGOs (including environmental and consumer groups) were first consulted, as were experts and administrative officials, toward enhancing program efficiency. Second, a public-private governance partnership (the Public Meal Committee) was established according to a metropolitan ordinance to oversee review and coordination of policy measures. Third, parents and caretakers were invited to participate in inspecting food ingredient safety, and cooperatives participated in local public meal centers. For policy execution, district offices, representatives of public facilities (consumers) and local farms, and the Public Meal Committee together participate in surveys of public meal facilities, quality assurance, and research for determining meal prices. Policy feedback shared at roundtables and public briefings is also applied to improvements. Consultation and cooperation with diverse stakeholders has also been sought for the use of eco-friendly distribution centers, screening suppliers and local farms, and deciding prices and types of ingredients to be offered. For policy evaluation, parents, caretakers, members of the Public Meal Committee and the Public Meal Center participate in satisfaction surveys, farm assessments and pilot project assessments. Members of the Public Meal Committee and the heads of public meal centers also participate in the assessment of farms and advise researchers on analysis.

The first lesson learned is that it is possible, with appropriate policy design, to enhance the access of groups at greater health risks, such as children, seniors and persons with disabilities, to healthy, quality food, thereby reducing food inequality. The SMG intends to increase the number of citizens benefitting from the program by encouraging at least 70 percent of the 7,226 meal-providing public facilities across the city (responsible for some 305,000 persons) to participate by 2020. Second, the PMP can be a useful tool for reducing economic inequality between cities and rural communities and resolving financial risks faced by small and medium-sized farms by providing them with stable channels of distribution and guaranteed prices. The local circular economic structure also enables producers to participate in the entire process, from production to distribution and processing, making for greater profits and boosting rural economies. To ensure continued success of the program, the SMG plans to increase the supply of eco-friendly produce and demand by expanding program scope to include public organizations and hospitals. Second, while the majority of program clients are daycares today, the SMG will consult other public facilities and gather feedback on improving the program to diversify the clientele.