It is necessary to fully absorb and mobilize the multi-party forces of the market, form a joint force, innovate and improve the mode of providing meal assistance for the elderly, and deliver delicious and affordable meals to the elderly
In order to meet the community dining needs of the elderly, Beijing plans to develop 1,000 meals for the elderly this year, accelerate the full coverage of the meals for the elderly, and let the elderly eat steaming "heart-warming rice" at the doorstep of their homes. At present, Beijing has developed 967 pension meals, and the annual target is about to be completed.
According to the data of the seventh national census, the elderly population aged 60 and above in China has reached 264 million, accounting for 18.7% of the total population. How to meet the multi-faceted needs of the elderly and let the elderly have a happy and happy old age has become a realistic issue that needs to be solved urgently. The elderly often have a small family population and limited mobility, especially for the elderly who live alone, widows, the elderly, the incapacitated and other special difficulties, the problem of "difficulty in eating" is more prominent. Under the old-age service system based on home care and community old-age care, whether it can innovate the old-age meal assistance service model and deliver delicious and affordable meals to the elderly has received widespread attention.
So that the elderly can meet the needs of dining without leaving the community, many experiences have been explored in various places. For example, some places have set up tables and canteens for the elderly in the community to provide diversified choices for the elderly; some places have carried out door-to-door delivery services to deliver hot meals to the homes of the elderly. However, in general, due to the large population of the elderly and the different needs, it is still necessary to take multiple measures to improve the level of elderly meal assistance services.
Compared with the huge demand for elderly dining services, the community elderly meal assistance service model needs to be innovated. Now, many elderly people are far away from the meal assistance service point, coupled with the fact that the elderly are more susceptible to weather changes, physical conditions and other factors are inconvenient to go out, how to carry out a variety of forms of home delivery services, is one of the key points to meet the needs of the elderly catering consumption. At present, most of the community pension meal assistance service points are established by government departments in the form of public welfare projects, with high costs and low profits, and often there is a certain amount of operating pressure, and then hiring delivery personnel to provide door-to-door meal delivery services is indeed somewhat inadequate. It is necessary to fully absorb and mobilize the forces of old-age service institutions, catering enterprises, Internet platforms, takeaway delivery enterprises, social welfare organizations and other parties to form a joint force and strive to improve the level of door-to-door service for food delivery.
To take good care of the "happiness on the tip of the tongue" of the elderly, it is necessary to jointly build and improve the community old-age meal assistance service system, and make overall plans for the layout of the central kitchen, the old-age meal assistance service point, and the distribution center. Gradually establish a multi-level meal assistance service system of "central kitchen + canteen for the elderly + meal assistance service point + delivery to households", continuously expand service coverage, and create a 15-minute meal assistance service network. At present, some regions have explored the opening of digital pilots for elderly meal assistance, opened an online takeaway platform for the elderly, and provided online ordering and "takeaway" meal assistance services, which are worth learning.
The elderly catering service market with high frequency and high demand is a new blue ocean. Caring for the "happiness on the tip of the tongue" of the elderly is not only related to the well-being of the people's livelihood, but also a new "track" for the development of the pension industry. It is expected that all sectors of society will work together to further weave a well-balanced, convenient and accessible old-age meal assistance service network, so that more elderly people can enjoy delicious food and spend their old age in peace.
People's Daily Luo Shanshan
Source: People's Daily