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This study aims to analyze the impact of out-of-pocket payments that food service users make for organic and local food and examine whether government subsidies can help use more organic and local food. For our research, we conducted surveys targeting 350 child daycare centers and kindergartens and 200 social welfare facilities for the youth, disabled, and elderly. The survey results showed that the higher the reliance on parents’ payments in the daycare centers and kindergartens, the higher the proportion of organic/local food usage. In the social welfare facilities, however, the use of organic and local food decreased as the proportion of beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket payments increased, indicating that it is challenging to operate public meal services without the burden on the beneficiaries due to the poor financial condition of the facilities. Therefore, the government should look into the financial stability of facilities and provide continuous support for the use of organic and local food so that public catering services function as a policy tool to benefit the public, achieve agricultural sustainability and environmental values, and revitalize the local economy. |
