Taipei free milk program to expand eligibility from September

Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) Taipei will expand its existing weekly free milk program to cover all children aged 2 to 12 years old from September, the city's Department of Education said Monday.

It is hoped that more children in the city will be able to benefit from the "Fresh Milk Weekly 2.0" program, the department said at a news conference held at Yanping Elementary School.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told reporters that the expanded measure will soon cover children aged 2 to 12 whose household registration is in Taipei, even if they attend school outside of the city.

Currently, the program is only offered to children who are enrolled in local elementary schools or preschools, but those studying outside Taipei or attending the city's international schools are not eligible, even if they are registered as Taipei residents.

According to the department, eligible children are able to claim one free milk or soymilk product each week using their student card across four main convenience store chains -- 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Hi-Life and OK -- and the supermarket chains PX Mart and Simple Mart.

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.

The free milk is currently only available during the 40 weeks of the school year and not during the school holidays. Meanwhile, parents can claim the milk on behalf of their children, but they can only choose from 13 milk and 15 soymilk products covered by the program

However, beginning in September, Chiang said the offering will be available year-round, while its options expanded to include 18 milk varieties and 18 soymilk products, adding that besides the six retail stores, Carrefour Market will also be participating in the program.

Based on the department's statistics, the program which was launched in April had initially targeted an estimated 175,000 preschoolers and elementary school students in Taipei, and that number is set to rise to 208,000 beginning September.

Chiang said the free milk program has proven especially popular among Taipei residents, with 87 percent expressing support, and 95 percent of families with children in elementary school or younger in favor.

(by Yang Shu-min and Ko Lin) Enditem/ASG