President meets catering food association, pledges billions for SMEs' dual transformation

President Lai Ching-te received the directors, supervisors, and key cadre representatives of the National Federation of Box Lunch Food Commercial Associations of the Republic of China today. During the meeting, the President expressed high appreciation and gratitude for the daily dedication and contributions of domestic school lunch and catering operators to grassroots education. The catering industry has long served as a vital pillar for the stable supply of campus nutritional lunches, shouldering the massive daily task of providing meals for approximately 1.07 million school children across Taiwan. From ingredient traceability, hygiene and safety in central kitchens, and cooking to punctual delivery, every single link requires a high degree of professionalism and human resources input to ensure that students eat healthily and safely.

With changes in the social environment and the impact of price fluctuations, the domestic catering and institutional food service industry has faced considerable operational pressures in recent years. In addition to rising ingredient costs, the trend of declining birth rates has also brought structural challenges to the scale and stability of the catering market. Furthermore, amidst the global wave of net-zero carbon emissions and digital transformation, how traditional catering and institutional food service operators upgrade their equipment and introduce automation and intelligent management to meet modern hygiene standards and environmental requirements has become a key issue for the industry's sustainable development. Most of these grassroots enterprises are small, medium, and micro-sized businesses, which often face dilemmas of insufficient resources in capital, technology, and talent.

To assist the vast number of domestic small, medium, and micro enterprises in overcoming transition difficulties and enhancing their international competitiveness, the President proactively mentioned during the meeting that the government has officially passed the "Support and Strengthen Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises Program." This national-level industrial support plan is of a grand scale, with the government planning to invest a total of NT$100 billion over the next eight years to comprehensively assist domestic small, medium, and micro enterprises in accelerating digital and net-zero transformations. Through this policy tool, the government hopes to become the strongest backing for enterprises, helping traditional industries and livelihood service industries upgrade, and further consolidating the foundation and resilience of Taiwan's overall economy.

The President further emphasized that the catering industry is not merely a commercial activity, but is directly related to the healthy growth of the next generation and the nation's future human capital. The NT$100-billion upgrade program promoted by the government is likewise very suitable for and in need of the participation of foundational livelihood industries such as catering. Through the injection of government resources, it is hoped that catering operators can be assisted in improving central kitchen hardware facilities, enhancing cold chain logistics efficiency, introducing more advanced food safety management systems, and even making breakthroughs in reducing carbon footprints and food waste. The government hopes to join hands with the industry to jointly promote Taiwan's food industry toward the goal of sustainable development.

Faced with the currently volatile economic situation, Taiwan's industrial policy is gradually expanding from the past orientation toward large enterprises to substantial care for grassroots small, medium, and micro enterprises. From the stable supply of school nutritional lunches to the upgrading and transformation of the overall catering and food service industry, this is not only a matter of single-industry development, but also a part of the nation's overall social safety net and the stability of the livelihood economy. This exchange between the President and the National Federation of Box Lunch Food Commercial Associations demonstrates the government's determination to listen to grassroots voices and actively promote the implementation of industrial policies, while also pointing out a clear direction and support path for Taiwan's future campus food safety and catering industry development.