In the dining hall for the elderly in Shudou, Gudong Street, Gulou District, Fuzhou, the elderly are choosing dishes. Reporter You Qinghui photo
Shudou Senior Dining Hall School reporter Wu Liuwei photo
On April 3, in the dining hall and school for the elderly in Yushan Community, Antai Street, Gulou District, Fuzhou, the elderly in the community, volunteers and social workers made green groups, flowers and eggs together. Xie Guiming
The staff and community volunteers in the dining hall for the elderly in Fulian Community, Quangang District, Quanzhou City packed meals and delivered meals to the elderly living alone. Photo by Guo Feifan
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Interactive background
Recently, news such as "400 demonstration dining halls for the elderly will be built in our province", "The first Yonghui dining hall in Fuzhou will be opened" and "Longyan: As long as 5 yuan is available, there are different dishes every day" have aroused widespread concern among readers and heated discussion among netizens, and the livelihood project of the elderly dining hall has gradually entered the vision and life of more people.
Meal-assisted service is related to the people’s livelihood and well-being of the elderly, and it is the content of the construction of the service system of "seeing the good and supporting the healthy". Our province focuses on the elderly, especially those with financial difficulties and special elderly groups such as empty nest, living alone, old age and disability, guiding to revitalize existing resources, supporting the participation of multiple subjects, increasing policy subsidies, and making the elderly "warm their stomachs and hearts" with "the temperature of a hot meal".
However, many canteens for the elderly are facing difficulties in operation. According to media reports, the loss of the elderly canteen in a central province reached 61.77%; A city in Jiangsu has built 2059 food-aid restaurants, but only 913 have actually operated, and half of them are operating at a loss. The Beijing Investigation Corps of the National Bureau of Statistics has conducted a typical survey on 40 dining table institutions for the elderly. The results show that 55% of the canteen operators said that the price of meals is difficult to keep pace with the cost, and the loss gap tends to increase.
In 2019, our province started the construction of the elderly canteen. In June 2022, the Provincial Civil Affairs Department and other five departments issued the Guiding Opinions on the Construction and Operation of Dining Rooms for the Elderly. In January this year, 13 departments, including the Provincial Civil Affairs Department, issued the "Several Measures on Accelerating the Development of Food Aid Services for the Elderly", which guaranteed the food aid work for the elderly from the policies and regulations. The construction of canteens for the elderly in our province was carried out early and well. However, in the course of operation, some canteens were unable to make ends meet and were unsustainable. How to find a solution for the sustainable development of the elderly canteen? The reporter launched an investigation on this.
Reviews from netizens
Netizen "positive":Do good things for the elderly, eat affordable food, and serve the people wholeheartedly! Positive energy canteen.
Netizen "a heart yearning for freedom":Although there are not many dishes in my dining hall for the elderly, at least it is fresh. Crucially, it’s very cheap, old people and children 12 yuan, adults 15 yuan. By the way, it is self-help! That is to say, as long as 15 yuan is satisfied. The food will not taste too oily, with less oil and less salt.
Netizen "prodigal son!" ：Very good! How many left-behind elderly people’s daily life problems have been reduced, can we all implement them in Yongding?
Netizen "let it be":When will we open one in Pingyuan Village, Linan Town, Xianyou County, and often ask my mother to eat it, hoping that the government will fully bloom.
Netizen "March Folding Cat":My village did the same at first, but it didn’t last long.
Netizen "lyzxwldytl":We haven’t heard from the elderly canteen in our community for a long time, and I don’t know if it is still open.
Netizen "the clouds are light and the wind is light XYY":If the government does not strongly supervise and subsidize the community elderly canteen, it will basically last for half a year.
Netizen "Yibu":We can make full use of the resources of supermarkets to develop canteens for the elderly. (Southeast Network reporter Feng Xu finishing)
The temperature of a hot meal
Recently, the reporter went to Fuzhou, Longyan and Xianyou in three ways to visit and experience the canteen service for the elderly.
At 11 noon, the dining hall for the elderly in Qingcheng Community, Gulou District, Fuzhou City began to be lively.
The dining hall is designed in red, which is festive and warm. The pattern of bright kitchen in Ming dynasty, the operation of back kitchen is clear at a glance, and the cleanliness of kitchen utensils is reassuring. Chefs dressed in red and black hats put steaming dishes at the window. The old man walked past with plates in turn and chose his lunch among the rich dishes. In the workshop next to it, all kinds of pesticide residue tests, quarantine certificates, traceability certificates, food safety diaries and food samples are available.
The reporter also picked up the tray, selected three dishes of fish, pig blood and vegetables, and then served free soup and rice. "A total of 13 yuan, this is the social price. Old people can enjoy a 30% discount when dining with a silver age card. " Jiang Fengjuan, a community helper, told reporters that most of the people who come here to eat are elderly residents in the community, and about 20% of the customers are members of the community. Mr. Zhang, who dined at the scene, said: "This dining hall for the elderly is well run. The dishes are very rich, and the taste is very suitable for the elderly. You can eat with confidence." Ms. Liu, who is next to her, said that if she cooks at home, it will take a lot of time from buying food to washing dishes, and the meals of one or two people can’t make any tricks. The dining hall for the elderly liberates herself from the kitchen and greatly enhances her happiness.
At 11: 00 noon, more than 50 elderly people dined in the canteen of Kongfu Village Chief, Peifeng Town, yongding county, Longyan City. The dishes with rich varieties and reasonable combination of meat and vegetables are neatly arranged in the window, and the elderly can choose them in turn according to their own preferences and appetite. "There are 15 elderly people in their 90 s like me in the village. We come here every day to play chess and chat, and then eat for free." Uncle Zhang, a villager, gave a thumbs-up for the elderly canteen. "The dining hall for the elderly is operated in the mode of’ village-level hosting, government support and donations from rural sages’, and the elderly aged 60 to 70 only need to spend 5 yuan per meal, the elderly aged 70 to 80 3 yuan, the elderly aged 80 to 90 2 yuan, and the elderly over 90 are free. Each elderly person has two meats, one vegetable and one soup per meal." Zhang Lianghua, a rural revitalization consultant in the village, said that with the help of Xiang Xian, the canteen has gradually improved its functions, and there is also a chess room, a library and an activity room indoors, so that the elderly canteen can not only help with meals, but also become a good place for the elderly to relax.
At lunch time, the food in the dining hall of Yushan Village Chief in Linan Town, Xianyou County is fragrant, and the old people in the village come together and chat while eating. Lin Jinshou, the person in charge of the canteen, said: "The chef has made a variety of recipes, and the food is not the same every day. We try to make it soft, light and mixed with vegetarian dishes, which is more in line with the appetite of the elderly." Yushan Village is located in the south bank of Mulan River. There are 360 elderly people over 60 years old, most of whom are "empty nesters". In the past, when old people worked in the fields, they didn’t have time to cook lunch when they were busy, so they could only heat up the leftovers to cope with their stomachs. In order to solve the problem of eating for the elderly, the village built this provincial-level demonstration dining hall for the elderly with the support of 150,000 yuan of provincial subsidies and township sages, providing services such as food assistance, cultural entertainment and emotional exchange for the elderly in the village.
The hidden worry of a book
Behind the happiness of the elderly canteen, there is actually a hidden worry of sustainable management.
Chen Xiaotong, the manager of Fangcheng Community Seniors Dining Hall, told the reporter that the dining hall cooked on the spot, and at the same time, two community Seniors Dining Halls in Kaiyuan Xiang and Guixi delivered food. These three Dining Halls served about 400 people a day, and the rest days were halved.
The reporter saw in the ledger of the elderly canteen in Qingcheng community in March that the operating income was about 63,000 yuan, the expenditure was about 78,000 yuan, and the book loss was about 15,000 yuan. "This is only Qingcheng, plus Kaiyuan and Guixi communities, with a total loss of 30,000 yuan." Chen Xiaotong said.
The Neighboring Elderly Dining Hall (Xindian Store) in Jin ‘an District, Fuzhou City was opened in September 2022, and the operator is Changqing Retirement Garden under Fujian Changqing Pension Service Group Co., Ltd. The company operates 17 canteens for the elderly in Xindian Town, among which Xindian Store cooks on the spot and delivers meals to 16 other canteens. Xindian Store is a storefront facing the street due to its superior geographical location, with an average of about 100 people dining every day; The remaining 16 canteens are not well booked for dinner because of the small flow of people. Since October last year, only lunches have been provided, and reservations have to be made one day in advance, and each canteen has ordered more than 10 copies. "At the beginning of the canteen operation, every meal sold was a love given by the company. We insist on providing quality services and the flow of people has steadily increased. At present, these 17 canteens have achieved a balance of payments as a whole. " Xia Min, deputy director of the company’s home operation department, said.
The reporter learned from a number of grassroots cadres that compared with cities, rural elderly canteens are facing greater operational pressure. For example, in recent years, Jianyang District of Nanping City has opened a total of about 60 rural elderly canteens, and there are about 20 left to maintain daily operations.
Wage is a big item in the operating cost of the elderly canteen. A grassroots cadre in Songxi County told reporters that a rural elderly canteen must employ at least two staff members and pay about 60,000 yuan a year. However, most rural elderly dining halls have less than 10 elderly people, making ends meet. Chen Xiaotong said that the three community canteens in Qingcheng, Kaiyuan and Guixi employed 16 staff members, with an average daily salary of 2,700 yuan, while the average daily income in March was 4,240 yuan. After deducting the costs of food, water and electricity, the average daily loss was about 1000 yuan.
Operators of urban and rural canteens for the elderly agree that too few customers are the main reason for business pressure.
Enlightenment of first-line exploration
Thanks to the policy support, the elderly canteens generally do not have to bear the venue rent, while the water, electricity and gas fees are paid according to civil standards, which saves a lot of money for operation. On this basis, the competent departments and operators of elderly canteens around the country actively explored and contributed a lot of experience worthy of promotion.
It is a common practice to open to the society and give consideration to both public welfare and profit in urban dining halls for the elderly.
The dining hall for the elderly in Dahuangshan, Gulou District, Fuzhou achieved a slight profit only two months after its opening. Wang Jianbin, the person in charge of the operation, told the reporter that the canteen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an average of about 600 meals a day, including about 360 for the elderly and about 240 for the surrounding enterprises. There are many office workers around the canteen who come to eat in the canteen. This part belongs to commercial operation and has certain profit space. At the same time, the canteen has set up a sales area for agricultural products, and the profits generated can subsidize the construction of the elderly canteen. In order to enhance the user’s stickiness, the canteen has built a WeChat group, which sends dishes to the group in advance every day. Residents express their opinions in the group, and the canteen actively adopts improvements. The community relies on the canteen to build a "school" and often organizes recreational activities to gather popularity for the canteen.
At 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the reporter went to the dining hall for the elderly in Shuibei Street, No.4 Xiaoximentou Road, Shaowu City. Several old people went to the table for dinner early. At 5: 30, the canteen became more lively, with customers of all ages. Guan Zhengchao, the person in charge of the canteen, led the reporter through the hall to the other side. On the wall was a plaque with the words "New Area Canteen", and the decoration here was completely different from that of the elderly canteen. "This side is open to the public, that is, the ordinary restaurant, which does not interfere with the elderly canteen, but the kitchen is a set of people doing two things. The dishes are prepared at the same time, and resources are scheduled and shared at any time to save money. The money earned by the restaurant supplements the elderly canteen, which is equivalent to catching a ride in the restaurant. " Guan Zhengchao introduced.
Most of the canteens for the elderly in rural areas are maintained by means of "government supplement, rural fund-raising, villagers (society) donation and individual payment".
Liu junhua, deputy director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Jianyang District, Nanping City, said that the canteens for the elderly in rural areas that can operate continuously in this district have their own successful experiences. For example, the newly-built village head canteen in Jiangkou Town has been sponsored by the rural sages and donated by the District Charity Federation. At present, there are two tables for the elderly to eat at each meal; The canteen of Hangtou village head in Zhangdun town adopts the mutual aid mode, and enthusiastic villagers volunteer as chefs and administrators, eliminating the salary expenses; Longxia Village in Huilong Township is backed by Hengliang Ecological Poultry Industry Co., Ltd. with an annual output value of 600 million yuan, and co-built with local vegetable planting cooperatives, and got free ingredients.
The construction of canteen for the elderly can not be separated from the strong financial support. In Jianyang, the district finance gives 30,000 yuan each year as a bonus for the continuously operating elderly canteen. Since 2019, our province has continued to guarantee the construction of the elderly canteen (food aid point) as an important livelihood project, and promoted the construction of the elderly canteen to achieve results. Up to now, the provincial finance has invested a total of 125 million yuan. This year, our province will continue to support the construction of 400 demonstration canteens for the elderly, and the provincial finance will subsidize them according to the standard of 150,000 yuan each. (Reporter Wu Liutao Southeast Network reporter Feng Xu Chen Qiaoling Zhu Lin correspondent Xiong Chuan Chen Guomeng Wang Xiaoyun also contributed to this article)
Departmental solution
Provincial Civil Affairs Department: Make the canteen for the elderly affordable, long-lasting and well run.
By the end of 2023, 3012 canteens (food-helping points) for the elderly had been built in the province. In order to make the dining hall for the elderly affordable, long-lasting and well-run, our province has adopted the following operational strategies.
"Can afford it" according to local conditions. In terms of project arrangement, we should pay attention to practical results, and do not rush headlong into action or make rapid progress. Through "overlapping a batch of functions, building and rebuilding a batch, integrating and utilizing a batch, and helping neighbors", all kinds of service facilities with conditions will be incorporated into the elderly food service system as the main position of the elderly food service. From 2022 to 2024, the provincial level subsidized the construction of 1,000 demonstration canteens for the elderly for three consecutive years, and included them in the practical projects of the provincial party Committee and the provincial government for the people.
Guide the situation to "do it for a long time." Establish a diversified financing mechanism of "individuals give a little, enterprises give a little, the government makes up a little, the collective adds a little, and the society donates a little", adhere to paid services, implement classified subsidies, increase policy support, encourage diversified financing, and promote the sustainable development of catering services for the elderly. In cities, we will promote state-owned enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities, tap the scale advantages of chain catering enterprises, and create a catering brand that ensures people’s livelihood with small profits and convenience. For example, Fuzhou Chengtou Group established Fuzhou Catering Management Co., Ltd. and built a catering system that is "led by flagship stores+radiated by central canteens+extended by catering points". In rural areas, summarize and promote the "mutual help and filial piety canteen" model in Ningde City, encourage local rural sages to donate to support filial piety, and broaden the sources of funds through multiple channels; Encourage the elderly to help others and help themselves, and carry out labor such as growing vegetables, helping the kitchen and delivering meals; Advocate and mobilize all sectors of society to provide voluntary services for the elderly.
Because of the need to empower "do well". Innovate the integration mode of "eating and learning together", hold the "Old Age School", turn the dining table into a desk during non-dining hours, teach the knowledge of old-age anti-fraud and the training on the use of intelligent technology, so that the elderly can be full and full of learning. Innovate the construction of intergenerational interactive platform to solve the problem of loneliness of the elderly. The establishment of an open classroom not only enables the elderly to learn something, but also solves the problem of extracurricular nursing and teaching assistance for children. Innovative culture empowers characteristic elements, and integrates cultural elements with unique Fujian characteristics such as "Fu culture" and "New Fujian cuisine culture" into the catering service. (Reporter He Zumou finishing)
Experts say
Coordinating multi-resources to promote long-term operation
□ Gan Mantang, President of Fujian Gerontology Society and Professor of Sociology Department of Fuzhou University
At present, the canteens for the elderly in our province generally lack a sustainable operation mechanism. First of all, the normal operation of the elderly canteen needs an operation team, which is responsible for fund raising, food purchase and processing, food delivery and canteen cleaning. In rural areas, the village committees are mostly responsible for the operation of the elderly canteens, but it is difficult to take into account the daily operation and management of the elderly canteens because of the many affairs of village cadres.
Secondly, the operation of the elderly canteen lacks sustained funds. The survey found that although most villages can provide canteen space and facilities as required, due to the weak collective economy and limited social donations, the canteen for the elderly will be difficult to sustain after running out of start-up funds provided by the finance. The elderly canteen has to pay labor costs, but the elderly eat less, and most elderly canteens can’t make ends meet. Some well-run elderly canteens are mainly maintained by donations from rural sages, but they also face the problem of sustainability of funds.
Thirdly, in terms of service, the dining halls for the elderly cover mostly the elderly who can take care of themselves, but the elderly who are "more difficult" to eat are mainly disabled, disabled, elderly and widowed. At present, the catering points in the cities that have been operated have not generally carried out the business of delivering meals to households, so it is difficult to take into account the people who are "more difficult" to eat.
It is necessary to adjust measures to local conditions, "one village (community) and one policy", and do a good job in helping the elderly. In mountain villages where villagers live in scattered areas, priority should be given to solving the problem of concentrated living of elderly people living alone, and then solving the problem of feeding. Villagers live in relatively concentrated rural areas, relying on the built canteen of Happiness Hospital to provide meals and play the role of the elderly association. The elderly association is responsible for the operation and management of the elderly canteen, and the village Committee provides support. In rural elderly canteens that have been in operation for many years in Putian and Quanzhou, villagers’ WeChat groups are generally set up by village elderly associations to raise funds for canteens through donations, and revenues and expenditures are also announced in WeChat groups to facilitate villagers’ supervision and management. In urban areas, catering services can be provided by relying on streets or community care centers, canteens of government agencies, enterprises and institutions, for-profit fast food restaurants, etc., and community neighborhood committees should do a good job in organizing and coordinating so as to facilitate the elderly to dine nearby. Home delivery service can be combined with the government’s purchase of home-based care services, and professional institutions can undertake home delivery work.
In order to make the dining hall for the elderly run for a long time, the key lies in coordinating various resources and promoting the sustainable operation of food-helping in multiple modes. In urban areas, local governments are responsible for encouraging street and community care centers to lead and operate in chain enterprises to reduce the cost of food service; Encourage charitable organizations, caring enterprises, caring people and other donations to develop a volunteer service team for food.
It is necessary to strengthen supervision and management and take many measures to improve the quality of food service. The dining hall for the elderly should give priority to providing lunch, provide breakfast, lunch and dinner if possible, and the service should be continuous and stable. Relevant catering enterprises should fulfill their social responsibilities, provide high-quality and low-cost catering services that the elderly can trust, and form a scale and brand effect. (Reporter He Zumou finishing)