E China's Zibo hailed for providing elderly people canteens

Zibo city in east China's Shandong Province, which has gone viral on Chinese social media for its unique local barbecue, was recently praised on the internet for its canteens providing healthy, cost-effective food to elderly citizens.

Senior citizens eat a meal at a canteen for the elderly in Huangguo village, Huantai county, Zibo city, east China's Shandong Province. (Photo/Huang Zhuoyue)

"There were canteens for the elderly in Zibo several years ago. People aged above 80 can enjoy free meals at the canteens. My grandfather and grandmother ride a tricycle to such a canteen every day to enjoy meals that are more nutritious than what they cook at home," a local resident said.

Zibo has built over 1,000 canteens for elderly people. On average, senior residents make over 300,000 trips to eat launch at these canteens.

Yiyuan county, Zibo, located in the Yimeng Mountains, is home to about 85,000 seniors. The county has established 244 canteens for elderly citizens and 138 sites offering meal services, covering all 446 villages.

The local government offers subsidies to senior residents who eat at these canteens, where people in their 60s and 70s pay only 2 yuan ($0.29) and 1 yuan for a meal, respectively, and those aged above 80 eat for free.

"Left-behind seniors get bored at home. We enjoy meals at a canteen on time, and our children who work outside can feel relieved," said a resident named Liu Xunchang.

It's more difficult to guarantee the sustainable operation of the canteens for elderly people in rural areas, said Dong Yulei, deputy director of Zibo's civil affairs bureau, adding that these canteens' working capital mainly consists of government subsidies and money from village collectives and the families of seniors.

In Jijiayu village, Yiyuan county, government subsidies, money from the village collective and from the families of seniors account for one-third of the working capital of the canteen for elderly people, according to Hou Zhenbao, a village official.

To reduce operating costs, each canteen for the elderly in the county provides two to three public welfare jobs, with the rest of its workers being voluntary villagers.

Zibo has rolled out policies to encourage nursing facilities to offer elderly care services, including daycare and health management, based on these canteens.

The city has combined operating the canteens for the elderly with nursing homes, daycare centers, take-out restaurants and fast-food restaurants to offer better services for senior people.

Many internet users from Zibo said in addition to such canteens, some villages in the city have built nursing homes for the elderly to live free of charge and provided free haircuts and bus services for them.