Senior Citizens Enjoy Great Food on Their Doorstep

Around 9 a.m., the kitchen of the senior citizen’s restaurant in Juye Community, located in the Jingyue High-Tech Development Zone, Changchun City, Jilin Province, is filled with the familiar sound of vegetables being chopped. Chef Gan Liqun nimbly dices zucchini and carrots into thin, even slices. He drizzles oil on the pan and begins to fry onions and garlic. The vegetables sizzle as they touch the pan, and a fragrant aroma fills the kitchen.

Juye Community’s senior citizen’s restaurant is a canteen catering to elderly residents of the jurisdiction. People over 65 can enjoy two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of soup for only nine yuan. The price is only six yuan for people living on subsistence allowance and those with disabilities.

“The restaurant was opened in 2019 at the request of community residents,” said Wei Jinguo, secretary of the Juye Community general Party branch. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Changchun City accelerated efforts to expand the floor space allocated for public service facilities in every community to ensure the total is at least 1,000 square meters. Juye Community was one of the participants in the pilot project for this initiative and allocated an additional 350 square meters for such facilities. The community considered how best to use the additional space to benefit more people. It conducted several surveys and interviews to gather input from residents. People over 60 make up more than half of the residents in the 4,605 households of the 10 local residential communities. Based on residents’ opinions, the community decided to open a canteen specifically for the elderly. Through a public bidding process, it selected a catering company to run the seniors’ restaurant and ensure that elderly residents could enjoy meals at a good price.

Gan Liqun and Chen Yan were the two staff members assigned to the community restaurant by the catering company. Every day at around 6 a.m., they go to the vegetable market to buy the day’s fresh vegetables and arrive at the restaurant by 8 a.m. to begin their busy day. In the kitchen, Chen Yan washes the vegetables before tidying up the kitchen, cleaning the dining room, and preparing the tableware. Gan Liqun remains in the kitchen. First, he prepares the cold dishes and the staple foods, and then he cooks various stews and stir-fries. Under the tacit cooperation of Gan and Chen, the cold dishes and cooked foods such as sausages, fried yellow croaker, and shredded potatoes are quickly finished and covered with cling film.

Gan then proceeds to cook the hot dishes according to the prepared menu. Since the restaurant’s customers are all elderly, the dishes must be low in oil and salt, have a good nutritional balance, and be soft and tasty. “Braised potato and eggplant, which is a home-cooked dish in Northeast China, is a favorite among older people because it’s easy to chew even if their teeth aren’t good,” Gan explains. After putting the freshly cooked braised potato and eggplant into a container, Gan begins making a dish of dried shrimp and zucchini. “You see, these shrimp don’t contain any salt, so the dish won’t be too salty for our elderly customers,” Gan notes as he works.

Elderly diners choose the foods they love at the senior citizens’ restaurant. With people over 60 accounting for over half of the residents in Juye Community in Changchun City, the opening of a restaurant for seniors has brought great convenience to local residents. JILIN RADIO AND TELEVISION STATION / PHOTO BY ZHANG XUYAN

Cumin-flavored meat slices, braised pork belly with tofu, and boiled broccoli—one dish after another comes out of the pot, and lunchtime is quickly coming.

Guo Shan, deputy director of the community, enters the kitchen. “Chef Gan, is the food almost ready?” She asks. “I was just waiting for you,” replies Gan. “How many deliveries are there today?” He asks. “Give me one portion to start with and I’ll deliver it to Ms. Wang.” Wang Yueqin is an elderly community resident and an empty nester. She is in poor health and usually lives on her own. All her meals are provided by the senior citizens’ restaurant. When the weather is bad or people don’t want to leave home, community staff will act as delivery people and bring seniors their meals at home. There are quite a few like Wang Yueqin in Juye Community, including 72-year-old Xie Zhenjie who has also benefited from the service. Xie suffers from ankylosing spondylitis and cannot move around freely. Xie’s partner also has a heart condition and is on medication year-round. Whenever it rains or snows, the elderly couple have their meals delivered to them by community staff. This service is part of the “1+N” model developed by the Juye Community, which combines the community canteen, online booking for delivery, distribution points in residential compounds, and home delivery. The approach enables the elderly to enjoy hot and tasty meals at a good price without leaving home, removing the final hurdle in providing meals for seniors.

Elderly people can also eat at the restaurant if they wish. Around 11 a.m., the canteen welcomes its first guest, Sun Lihui, who grabs a plate and fills it with fried yellow croakers, fried sweet potato balls, potato and eggplant stew, and slices of cumin meat. “As I get older, I’m less willing to cook for myself. My wife and I couldn’t possibly prepare such a variety of dishes,” Sun said. “The senior citizens’ restaurant is not only cheap, but also clean and delicious. When I’m ready to eat, all I have to do is make a quick trip downstairs.” As we spoke, more people began to arrive. Smiling and chatting as they queued, they picked up their food and sat down to eat. It’s clear that the senior citizens’ restaurant has won a place in their hearts.

The restaurant is just one of many homebased eldercare projects being undertaken by Juye Community. To further improve the lives of its elderly residents, the community has also designated the 15th of each month as “Haircut Day,” providing free haircuts for people over 65 in the jurisdiction as well as door-to-door services for those with disabilities or mobility impairments. It has also opened a dance hall, games rooms, and psychological counseling offices. All of these efforts are helping people live life to the fullest in their later years.