Seniors find an appetite for community canteens

Districts and counties in Dalian have taken a number of measures to explore and accelerate construction of community canteens. Some of these canteens have innovated their own business models, optimized the meals they offer, and now attract residents of all ages.

In Shahekou district, the civil affairs bureau is encouraging star-rated care institutions for the elderly and others with good facilities to open their dining services to the community, provide such services within the institution, and offer meal deliveries to seniors living nearby.

In Lyushunkou district, the canteen in the Changxing community has set up two WeChat groups with a total of more than 800 members.

Luan Jinling, who is in charge of the district's service center for the elderly, said: "The daily menu is sent to the groups so that residents can come to eat according to their preferences. They sometimes voice their opinions in the groups."

The community has nearly 5,000 residents, one-third of whom are more than 60 years old, she said.

"Running a community canteen for the elderly means giving up on young customer groups with higher consumption capacity. We're still exploring a way to balance costs and service," Luan said.

In addition to Luan's canteen, Desheng subdistrict set up another canteen at the Lixin community by cooperating with a local charity team.

This canteen, which opened in November, is funded and operated by Jin Yi, head of the team. With the aim of offering affordable dishes to customers, it charges those who are 70 or older just 12 yuan per meal.

The canteen offers free meals for local low-income groups, families of revolutionary martyrs and servicemen, the disabled, orphans, and families facing difficulties.

A smart community launched in Dongjiagou subdistrict, Jinpu, on Jan 26 features an automated cooking machine and a machine that can steam, roast and stew food. The community also offers discounts to people who are 60 or older and provides meal delivery services for those with mobility challenges and disabilities.

Local resident Li Dan said: "The dishes cooked by the machine tasted good. I couldn't tell whether they had been cooked by a chef or a machine."

The canteen also uses facial recognition and dish recognition technology for accurate billing and payment, as well as displaying real-time sales data on a large screen.

Established through the "government guidance, market-oriented operation" model, the canteen is operated by the catering management company Dalian Jiufu Tuanshan, which has kitchens in 25 cities nationwide that serve 520,000 meals to students at noon every day.

Li Songtao, the company's chairman, said, "The smart canteen not only provides residents with safe and healthy dining options, it can also save one-third of labor costs and raw material procurement costs.

"There is huge market potential, and we hope to develop a model that can be replicated and promoted nationwide."