Haenam Local Food Achieves 16.7 Billion KRW in Sales in 3 Years Since Opening

Success of Food Policy..."Miracle of Haenam Small Farmers"

The local food direct sales store and public school meal center in Haenam County, Jeonnam, have achieved sales of 16.7 billion KRW in just over three years since opening.

According to the county on the 8th, the local food direct sales store and public school meal support center, which opened in October 2021, recorded cumulative sales of 9.7 billion KRW and 7 billion KRW, respectively, as of the end of last year.

The local food direct sales store, located in Gukyori, Haenam-eup, has been recognized as a key hub leading Haenam County’s healthy food policy, with over 360,000 consumers having used the store since its opening. In particular, the store, which started with 104 farms and 210 items, has now expanded to 589 farms and 793 items, showing remarkable growth.

Farmers at the Haenam Local Food Direct Market 3rd Anniversary Ceremony are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Haenam County

Small and medium-sized farms, which are the main suppliers, have secured stable sales channels through the local food store, significantly increasing farm income and creating a new concept of the “salaried farmer.”

The public school meal center supplies Haenam’s excellent local agricultural products to 5,700 people at 59 facilities, including daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as 2,500 people at seven public meal service companies such as Daehan Shipbuilding. Despite the geographical conditions of not being near a major city, Haenam County’s remarkable local food achievements are credited to the effective implementation of the “Haenam 2030 Food Plan” policy, which has been steadily promoted during the 7th and 8th civil administrations.

Haenam County was selected as a leading local government for the regional food plan in 2018 and has promoted a vision of “realizing the universal value of happiness and food for residents” through the “Haenam 2030 Food Plan,” implementing five major strategies and ten key action tasks. In addition, by being selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ food plan package support project, the county successfully established and operates the local food direct sales store and public school meal support center.

The local food direct sales store and public school meal support center have built a virtuous cycle food system by providing stable sales channels for small, medium, and family farms producing eco-friendly food in Haenam, while allowing all consumers easy access to healthy and safe food. Monthly experiential events, such as inviting consumers to farm experiences and children’s shopping activities, are held to increase understanding of food policies, and new sales channels are being developed by discovering various consumers such as Daehan Shipbuilding and Haenam Prison.

Thanks to these achievements, Haenam County has been selected as the top local government in the regional food index for two consecutive years, creating a model case that proves local food projects can succeed even in rural areas.

A county official said, “This year, we will establish the vision of ‘Haenam, the capital of rural and fishing villages’ and newly elevate our status as the number one agricultural and fishing region both domestically and internationally. We will continue our efforts to ensure food security for Korea and provide safe and healthy food for the people through clean, safe food produced locally.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.