BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Since a canteen opened in her community, 85-year-old Bi Wangdi has an easy solution to one of the challenges of growing old: what to eat every day.
At lunchtime, Bi and her husband ordered sweet-and-sour pork ribs, stir-fried pumpkin and bok choy, along with a bowl of rice, for only 30 yuan (about 4.4 U.S. dollars) at this community canteen in Qingshan District in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
"It's clean, affordable and tasty, and there are many choices," Bi said of the canteen named Haoweidao. "Our children don't live nearby, and the elderly canteen has solved a big problem for us."
China now has around 82,000 elderly meal-service sites like this, providing food for more than 4 million elderly people every day, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
This expansion comes as the country faces a rapidly aging population and changing family structures, with many older people living alone while their adult children work or settle elsewhere.
For such people, eating hot meals every day is a basic quality-of-life issue.
Operated by a catering company on premises provided by the community, the Haoweidao canteen serves lunch and dinner, with more than 20 dishes available each day.
Hu Xianjun, 71, is a regular at the Haoweidao canteen. He has high blood pressure and has undergone a heart stent procedure. With his daughter living far away, cooking for himself has become difficult.
"The food is on the lighter side, which is particularly suitable for older people like us," Hu said when commenting on the canteen menu. On traditional Chinese festivals, the canteen also offers festive foods such as glutinous rice balls and dumplings free of charge.
For those unable to leave home, the service does not stop at the dining hall.
Every day, social workers and volunteers load freshly prepared meals into insulated delivery boxes and carry them to older residents with limited mobility.
In the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, civil affairs authorities have partnered with the food delivery service in the Alipay app. Elderly people can order discounted meals from participating community canteens and receive reduced delivery charges. The service combines a professional delivery network with government support, while charitable funds are also being raised to subsidize delivery costs.
Guo Lin, a professor at the School of Sociology of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, said these meal services can ease the burden of cooking for elderly people living alone, those of advanced age and people with disabilities.
"It also gives older people a way to stay connected with their communities while easing the caregiving burden on their children," Guo added.
This evolution reflects the way China is approaching elderly meal services at the national level.
In 2023, 11 government departments issued an action plan urging wider coverage of elderly meal services in urban and rural communities by the end of 2026. The plan called for affordable, safe and quality meals while encouraging catering companies, delivery platforms and other social forces to participate.
The central government provided a total of 600 million yuan in financial support in 2024 and 2025, while local governments have incorporated elderly meal services into broader community service programs.
But as the number of elderly canteens grows, the question of how they can survive financially while keeping meals affordable remains.
Some local governments provide low-cost or rent-free premises in certain community care facilities, allowing professional catering companies to operate the canteens at lower costs.
Rather than serving only seniors, many now sell office lunches, children's meals and takeaway dishes to nearby residents. At lunchtime, retirees may find themselves sharing tables with office workers and schoolchildren.
In north China's Tianjin Municipality, where elderly canteens are open to people of all ages, non-elderly customers account for roughly one-third of total diners, according to local statistics. Such additional business helps these restaurants make better use of their kitchens and facilities throughout the day.
Hangzhou, for example, has adopted a diversified funding model, drawing on contributions from individuals, businesses, government subsidies and charitable donations to help keep elderly meal services affordable and sustainable.
Elderly meal services are a systematic public welfare effort that requires the government to take the lead, different departments to work together, society to participate and families to do their part, said Xie Lili, an associate professor at the School of Population and Health at Renmin University of China.
The reach and effectiveness of the welfare reflect how society as a whole responds to the needs of an aging population, she said.
At Haoweidao, manager Chen Zhihong has led her team in continuing to refine the canteen's services. The canteen regularly introduces seasonal dishes and offers tailored meal options for older people with specific dietary needs, including those with diabetes or gout.
"We hope that older people here can enjoy more than simply eating enough. We want them to eat well, and, above all, to enjoy their dining time," Chen said. ■
