School lunches free from Sept, Kaohsiung plans standard to balance quality and spending
Kaohsiung City will implement free school lunches for public elementary and junior high schools from September. The city is drafting a price-linked meal fee standard to maintain quality while managing financial burdens.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 13:52
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 14:01 (9 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 25, 2026 at 00:35 (10h 34m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, reporter Lin Chiao-lien, Kaohsiung, 24th) Kaohsiung City will implement completely free nutritious school lunches for public elementary and junior high schools starting this September. City councilors suggested formulating a meal fee calculation standard to ensure quality and avoid it becoming a political add-on competition that increases the financial burden. Education Bureau Director Wu Li-sen said they are currently drafting a meal fee standard that balances quality and cost expenditures.
Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Kuo Chien-meng pointed out during a council interpellation today that in the past, parents paid for school lunches, and meal fees had been nearly frozen for a long time. The compressed costs were reflected in the meals, but the free policy may not necessarily improve quality.
He cited an example saying that in Japan, quality declined due to keeping meal fees low, while in South Korea, after promoting free lunches, the policy evolved into political competition, with meal fees and subsidies continuously rising, even including high-priced ingredients, which increased the financial burden.
Kuo Chien-meng believes that if Kaohsiung does not establish an institutionalized adjustment mechanism, future meal fee adjustments might be affected by political factors. He suggested the city government should design a reasonable adjustment formula based on the price index and set upper and lower limits to avoid drastic price fluctuations while ensuring meal quality.
Wu Li-sen replied that Kaohsiung currently has about 190,000 public elementary and junior high school students. Estimated at 200 meal days per year, every 1 NTD increase in meal fees adds about 38 million NTD in annual funding. They are currently evaluating whether to change the current biennial review of meal fee increases to an annual review, allowing meal fees to reflect market prices more immediately and ensure quality.
Wu Li-sen stated that they are currently formulating the meal fee for free nutritious lunches, calculated based on the existing charging standards, plus the central government's subsidy for "3 Labels and 1 QR Code" organic ingredients, and the mayor's overall trial calculation for the "milk once a week" policy. In the past, meal fees were reviewed every two years. During Mayor Chen Chi-mai's tenure, they have been adjusted twice, by 2 NTD each time, for a total increase of 4 NTD, all fully absorbed by the city government without increasing the burden on parents.
Regarding meal quality, Wu Li-sen stated that in addition to the current comprehensive spot-check system, a food safety platform has been established for ingredient registration and traceability management, prioritizing domestic ingredients. Chen Chi-mai also requested that future fruits and aquatic products will use Kaohsiung local sources entirely, and vegetables and livestock products will also prioritize local procurement. Relevant operational procedures are currently being formulated. (Editor: Huang Ming-hsi) 1150424
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship from you is the power to protect press freedom
Download Central News Agency "First Hand News" APP, grasp the latest news instantly
Text, images, and audio/video on this website cannot be reproduced, broadcast, transmitted, or utilized without authorization.
(Central News Agency, reporter Lin Chiao-lien, Kaohsiung, 24th) Kaohsiung City will implement completely free nutritious school lunches for public elementary and junior high schools starting this September. City councilors suggested formulating a meal fee calculation standard to ensure quality and avoid it becoming a political add-on competition that increases the financial burden. Education Bureau Director Wu Li-sen said they are currently drafting a meal fee standard that balances quality and cost expenditures.
Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Kuo Chien-meng pointed out during a council interpellation today that in the past, parents paid for school lunches, and meal fees had been nearly frozen for a long time. The compressed costs were reflected in the meals, but the free policy may not necessarily improve quality.
He cited an example saying that in Japan, quality declined due to keeping meal fees low, while in South Korea, after promoting free lunches, the policy evolved into political competition, with meal fees and subsidies continuously rising, even including high-priced ingredients, which increased the financial burden.
Kuo Chien-meng believes that if Kaohsiung does not establish an institutionalized adjustment mechanism, future meal fee adjustments might be affected by political factors. He suggested the city government should design a reasonable adjustment formula based on the price index and set upper and lower limits to avoid drastic price fluctuations while ensuring meal quality.
Wu Li-sen replied that Kaohsiung currently has about 190,000 public elementary and junior high school students. Estimated at 200 meal days per year, every 1 NTD increase in meal fees adds about 38 million NTD in annual funding. They are currently evaluating whether to change the current biennial review of meal fee increases to an annual review, allowing meal fees to reflect market prices more immediately and ensure quality.
Wu Li-sen stated that they are currently formulating the meal fee for free nutritious lunches, calculated based on the existing charging standards, plus the central government's subsidy for "3 Labels and 1 QR Code" organic ingredients, and the mayor's overall trial calculation for the "milk once a week" policy. In the past, meal fees were reviewed every two years. During Mayor Chen Chi-mai's tenure, they have been adjusted twice, by 2 NTD each time, for a total increase of 4 NTD, all fully absorbed by the city government without increasing the burden on parents.
Regarding meal quality, Wu Li-sen stated that in addition to the current comprehensive spot-check system, a food safety platform has been established for ingredient registration and traceability management, prioritizing domestic ingredients. Chen Chi-mai also requested that future fruits and aquatic products will use Kaohsiung local sources entirely, and vegetables and livestock products will also prioritize local procurement. Relevant operational procedures are currently being formulated. (Editor: Huang Ming-hsi) 1150424
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship from you is the power to protect press freedom
Download Central News Agency "First Hand News" APP, grasp the latest news instantly
Text, images, and audio/video on this website cannot be reproduced, broadcast, transmitted, or utilized without authorization.