The objectives of this study were to investigate the current status of the Korean government-funded meal support program for low-income children through convenience stores and to evaluate the nutritional quality of the meal items available under the program. The POS data of three convenient stores where children had used their electronic meal cards most often in Seoul during January 2010 and the kinds and amounts of ingredients of the meals items available to the children were obtained from the headquarter of the convenient stores. A total of 5,081 transactions by 693 children included in the POS data was analyzed. In addition, nutritional contents of meal items, which were meal boxes (11 kinds), kimbab (13 kinds), rice balls (27 kinds), inari sushi (1 kind), and sandwiches (26 kinds), were analyzed with Can Pro 3.0. The results showed that children had purchased flavored-milk products most often. Children tended to purchase meal items together with drinks (60.9% of transactions), but some purchased drinks (27.6%) or meal items only (11.5%). Except for meal boxes, none of the meal items satisfied 1/3 of Estimated Energy Requirements of the 9-11 year-old boys per day. The average energy contents of different kinds of meal boxes, kimbabs, rice balls, and sandwiches were 619, 357, 200, and 380 kcal, respectively, and the energy content of a package of Inari sushi was 457 kcal. Vitamin C amount was found to be deficient in all the meal items, compared to 1/3 of Recommended Intake of the 9-11 year-old boys per day. The results of this study could be useful to develop nutritionally appropriate meal items for the convenient stores participating in the government-funded meal support program for children from low-income families.
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The purpose of this study was to propose the appropriate sizes and dish combination for nutritional-balanced lunch boxes delivered to children under the government-funded meal service program in Korea. The study was based on the 3 : 1 : 2 Meal Box Magic, a nutrition education method developed in Japan. A total of 290 lunch menus, comprising of 10 day menus from 29 organizations having delivered lunch boxes to children during summer vacation of 2008, were analyzed and used as the base data for lunch box combination. Dishes of the menus were classified into 6 groups: Rice group, Protein side dish group (including meat, fish, egg, and bean dishes), Vegetable side dish group, Kimchi group (including kimchi and jangajji), Soup, stew group, and the other group. Nutrient analysis was conducted for 100 ml of these dishes by CAN Pro 3.0 utilizing volume and weight conversion data used for analysis of the Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and those from the Nutrient Composition of Food for Consumers. All the possible combinations of 5 dishes, comprising of 3 dishes from Rice group, Protein side dish group, and Kimchi group, respectively, and 2 dishes from Vegetable side dish group, were made using the frequently served dishes from the respective dish group. Nutrient analysis of each combination was conducted based on the assumption that a lunch box was 600 ml and filled up to 80% by dishes using the volume ratio of 3 : 1 : 1.5 : 0.5 for Rice group : Protein side dish group : Vegetable side dish group : Kimchi group. The mean and standard deviation of energy and nutrients of all combinations calculated by weighting the serving frequency of each dish selected for the combinations were 621 +/- 81 kcal for Energy, 22.1 +/- 5.0 g for Protein, 120 +/- 45 mg for Calcium, 4.1 +/- 1.1 mg for Iron, 201 +/- 130microgram RE for Vitamin A, 0.34 +/- 0.10 mg for Thiamin, 0.27 +/- 0.10 mg for Riboflavin, and 24.3 +/- 9.6 mg for Vitamin C. The energy percentages from Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat were 66%, 14% and 20%. The analysis results met the nutrition standard of lunch boxes for male elementary students in grades 4 through 6 under the government-funded meal service program regarding calories, nutrients except calcium and riboflavin, and macronutrient distribution ranges. Accordingly appropriate box sizes were suggested for different age and sex groups to meet the respective nutrition standards. In addition, milk or dairy products were suggested to accompany lunch boxes to supplement calcium and riboflavin intake. The method of selecting box sizes and making dish combination suggested in this study could be useful for the organizations preparing lunch boxes under the government-funded children's meal service program where nutrition professionals are not available.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of foodservice management in organizations delivering meal boxes for low-income children during summer vacation. A survey was conducted with persons in charge of meal box production and service of these organizations via mail. Out of 114 questionnaires distributed nationwide, 100 were analyzed (87.8% analysis rate). Over half (53%) of the organizations delivered meal boxes consisting of rice and side dishes while the rest delivered side dishes only. About 81% of the organizations received KRW 3,000 per meal from their local governments and the rest received KRW 3,500. Only 28% of organizations had employed a dietitian. Over one-third (38%) of the respondents were unaware of the official nutritional standard of the foodservice program for low-income children during vacation. Most of the organizations (94%) had menu planned in advance. The average percentage of food cost was 84.1%. Over 40% of the organizations did not keep food samples for sanitation test (43%) and did not take any measures for keeping food temperature during delivery (45%). The organizations delivering rice and side dishes were more likely to be located in cities rather than rural areas and received higher reimbursement rate. The organizations receiving reimbursement of KRW 3,500 or hiring a dietitian were more likely to use standardized recipes, keep food samples for sanitation test, or take measures for keeping food temperature during delivery compared to the counterparts. Respondents reported that increasing reimbursement rate was the most necessary for improving the quality of meal box. This study results showed that the meal box delivery service for low-income children was not properly managed during the vacation, with regards to menu planning and food production. It is recommended that reimbursement rate for meal boxes should be adjusted depending on meal box types and local conditions.