Taiwanese school meal and milk program expansions

Major cities and counties in Taiwan have launched or expanded nutritional support programs for students as the new school year begins.

In Taichung, a comprehensive free nutrition lunch program serves approximately 240,000 public and private elementary and junior high school students. Mayor Lu Shiow-yen noted the city budget for these meals increased from 1.1 billion to 4 billion TWD. The ‘Taichung Calcium Praise 2.0’ program has expanded to include private elementary school students and children aged 2 to 12 who reside in the city but attend school elsewhere, providing weekly milk or soy milk during school terms and breaks.

In Taipei, Mayor Chiang Wan-an announced the expansion of the ‘Fresh Milk Happiness Week’ to include junior high students, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 280,000 via digital card redemption.

New Taipei City has commenced its free nutrition lunch program for 323,000 students. Mayor Hou Yu-ih emphasized that quality and food safety must remain a priority. The city’s milk subsidy program, which allows students to redeem one bottle of milk or soy milk weekly using EasyCard student IDs, has been extended to include junior high students, covering approximately 430,000 children.

Taoyuan City has also extended its milk subsidy programs to include junior high school students. Meanwhile, Miaoli County has introduced a free nutrition lunch policy for students from elementary through high school, as well as teachers and staff. In Miaoli, the county government and local townships split the costs to provide meals valued at 60 TWD per person, with an emphasis on local ingredients and food safety.