《TAIPEI TIMES》New Taipei shops sign on to provide meals to students

By Lin Hsin-han and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Nearly 3,000 convenience stores and restaurants in New Taipei City are from tomorrow to Feb. 12 to provide free meals to economically disadvantaged students under the age of 18.

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Schools in the city were to inform students of the service, available at 2,742 locations, before the Lunar New Year holiday, the New Taipei City Government said on Sunday.

The city has offered the service for 10 years, New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen （張明文） said.

EXPANDING

“Initially, just the four major convenience store chains participated in the program, but in the past few years many restaurant chains have also gotten on board,” he said, adding that the Ba Fang Yun Ji Dumpling （八方雲集）, Liang She Han （梁社漢排骨） and Formosa Chang （鬍鬚張） restaurant chains were among the participating companies.

“Children can access a variety of meals, and they only need to provide basic information,” he said. “The city government handles the rest.”

As part of the program, disadvantaged students who attend classes or other school-related activities during the winter break are also provided breakfast, he said, adding that those in elementary and junior-high school would receive NT$50 vouchers toward lunch each day during the break.

OUTREACH

For this year’s program the city commissioned students and teachers at New Taipei City’s Juang Jing Vocational High School to make promotional videos, one each for elementary-school students, and students in junior-high and high school.

The videos would be used to inform students about the program, the city said.

One student from Juang Jing said they had used the program when they were younger, adding that they hope more students in need would be aware of it.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES