Taichung School Lunch Portion Issue: 9 Meatballs for 30 Students Sparks Calls for Stricter Oversight

Central News Agency, Taichung, May 26. A parent in Taichung posted online complaining that in their child's school lunch, a soup pot for a class of about 30 students contained only 9 meatballs. This incident drew concern from Taichung City councilors today, who demanded that the city government strictly oversee the situation. Mayor Lu Shiow-yen stated that the city would penalize the catering company. Democratic Progressive Party councilors, including Chen Yu-jung, Chen Shu-hua, Chen Ya-hui, Chang Fen-yu, Hsieh Chia-yi, and Hsiao Lung-tse, stated at the city council's general interpellation this afternoon that a parent posted on social media that the school had uneven food distribution, with a winter melon and meatball soup pot containing only 9 meatballs for 30 students, forcing some teachers to use a lottery system to distribute them. Chen Yu-jung argued that although the school handled the incident urgently, it exposed a structural problem in the company's lack of rigorous process control. She insisted that the city government should not consider the matter resolved simply because the company compensated students with custard buns. Mayor Lu stated that the city has a penalty point system and would penalize the catering company. Education Bureau Director Chiang Wei-min stated that the bureau's goal is to ensure school lunches are safe, nutritious, and sufficient in quantity, and that remedial measures would be implemented. The Education Bureau explained that the lunch company failed to properly manage the distribution quantity for each class, leading to shortages. The bureau has ordered schools to strengthen training for administrative staff and teachers on lunch supply processes to prevent similar incidents from recurring.