Taipei to offer school children free weekly milk from Monday

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) Pupils studying at elementary schools in Taipei will be entitled to claim one free milk or soymilk product every week at designated retailers from Monday, the Taipei City Department of Education said.

Starting Monday, students who go to elementary schools in Taipei can use their student card once a week to claim one of the milk or soymilk products selected for the city government's program free of charge, the department said on its official website.

From April 14, the program will be expanded to cover preschool pupils in Taipei -- children as young as 2 -- the department said, and the rules will be similar to those for elementary school students.

The department estimated 184,000 children are eligible to take part in the free milk program.

The retailers taking part in the program aimed at boosting the nutritional intake of young children in Taipei include Taiwan's four main convenience stores chains -- 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Hi-Life and OK -- and the supermarket chains PX Mart and Simple Mart, the department said.

Parents can claim the milk on behalf of their children at the six retail stores around Taiwan, but they can only choose from 13 milk and 15 soymilk products covered by the program, according to the department.

If a student fails to claim the free milk for a week by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, it will not rollover to the following week, according to the program website.

In Taipei, elementary school students and preschool pupils are issued a student card and a card for young children, which is bundled with an EasyCard, commonly used to pay public transportation fares, small purchases or used as a library card.

To be eligible for the program, the children need to be enrolled in schools or preschools in Taipei, according to the department.

Students who are registered Taipei residents but studying in schools outside Taipei, or attend international schools in Taipei are not eligible, the program website indicates.

The free milk will only be available during the 40 weeks of the school year, and not during the winter and summer school breaks, according to the website.