At noon on December 24, in the elderly canteen of Pingshan Community Service Center, Huada Street, Gulou District, Fuzhou City, curry chicken, tomato scrambled eggs, fried seasonal vegetables, and braised thousand-page tofu ......Hot meals were served, more than 10 tables were full, and the "silver-haired people" of the community were happily enjoying the Huimin lunch.
Aunt Zhang, a 75-year-old resident of Pingshan Community, told reporters that when dining in the community canteen for the elderly, "1 meat, 2 vegetables, 1 soup and 1 rice" only costs 10 yuan. Since the opening of the canteen for the elderly, she has come here almost every day for lunch, which is not only cheaper, but also saves time in cooking. "In order to take care of the dietary needs of the elderly, the meals here are also deliberately made soft and delicious, and we chat with the neighbors while eating every day, and we play tai chi and paper-cutting handicrafts together after dinner, which is very happy!Aunt Zhang said.
Elderly people in Pingtung Community, Gulou District, Fuzhou City, are participating in fitness activities. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Hongyi.
Chen Mingfeng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Pingshan Community, told reporters that there are many government agencies and units in Pingshan Community, and there are many elderly people, and about 25% of the more than 6,000 permanent residents are over 60 years old. The elderly canteen not only provides high-quality catering services for the elderly in the jurisdiction, but also allows many elderly people to get out of the "small circle" and enter the "big family" of the community.
The birth of the elderly canteen is inseparable from a survey by the deputies of the Fuzhou Municipal People's Congress. During the Spring Festival a few years ago, Chen Changqin, a deputy to the Fuzhou Municipal People's Congress who has been engaged in catering services for a long time, was visiting an elder when he heard the old man mention that his children had been absent for a long time, and his legs and feet were not good, so he spent at least two or three hours on the street every day to buy vegetables and cook.
Chen Changqin realized that this problem is not unique among the lonely widows, living alone, and the elderly. In 2019, after investigating the communities in Taijiang District and Cangshan District of Fuzhou City with a number of representatives of the Fuzhou Municipal People's Congress, Deputy Chen Changqin took the lead in proposing to set up a canteen for the elderly in Fuzhou. "The city took our suggestion very seriously and immediately carried out research and feasibility studies. With the efforts of all parties, the first elderly canteen in Fuzhou City was launched that year. Chen Changqin said.
Lin Yanya, director of the pension service department of the Fuzhou Civil Affairs Bureau, said that as of the end of November this year, 557 canteens for the elderly have been built and put into use in Fuzhou, providing 2 seats340,000, and a total of 93 meal assistance services have been provided this year030,000 person-times.
For the deputies to the National People's Congress, the implementation of the project is not the end of their duties. Chen Changqin and other representatives are still continuing to pay attention to and deeply participate in the construction of the elderly canteen. "We will regularly go to some elderly canteens to check whether the ingredients are new or not, whether there are difficulties in operation, whether the subsidy funds from the superior are in place in time, etc., and form suggestions on the relevant situation, give feedback to the ** department, and jointly promote the high-quality development of the elderly canteen. Chen Changqin said. (Reporter Chen Hongyi).