Homegrown sweet potatoes, 700 kg, shared with neighbors in Yeonsu-gu

A group of private employment service providers in Incheon has donated freshly harvested sweet potatoes, grown by its own members, to help vulnerable residents of Yeonsu-gu. Yeonsu-gu District (Mayor Lee Jae-ho) said on the 27th that it received 700 kg of freshly harvested sweet potatoes on the 26th from the Incheon branch of the Korea Employment Service Association (branch head Hwang Bok-yeon).

[The Korean Today] Incheon branch of Korea Employment Service Association donating 700 kg of freshly harvested sweet potatoes © Reporter Kim Mi-hee

The donation is meant to help vulnerable local residents get enough food. The sweet potatoes will be split among eight sites, including free meal centers and social welfare facilities, and will be used in meals for the residents who use them. Fresh produce picked this autumn will go straight to the tables of neighbors who find it hard to get regular meals.

The sweet potatoes were not bought. Association members farmed and harvested them themselves. Because members handled everything from planting to harvest, the donation shares their time and effort as well as the food, which sets it apart from a simple donation of goods.

The Incheon branch of the Korea Employment Service Association is made up of private employment service operators in Incheon, such as job placement agencies and staffing offices. Its main work has been developing the private employment service sector and building up its member companies. The donation shows a group whose core business is matching people with jobs now reaching into local welfare work, a sign that community work by local businesses is growing.

“It is meaningful to be able to share sweet potatoes our members grew themselves with neighbors in need in our community,” said Hwang Bok-yeon, head of the Incheon branch of the Korea Employment Service Association. “We will continue our sharing activities together with the local community.”

“I thank the Incheon branch of the Korea Employment Service Association for sharing sweet potatoes they grew themselves with the local community,” said Yeonsu-gu Mayor Lee Jae-ho. “We will make sure the donated goods reach the residents who need them.”

Many free meal centers and social welfare facilities depend heavily on donated food to keep running. Coming as the weather turns cold, this donation is expected to be a real help in feeding the people who use these facilities. It also stands as an example of public-private sharing, with a local organization and the district office working together.

[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]

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