Community canteens open up the "last mile" of convenient life

Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the Notice on Carrying out the Pilot Work of Complete Community Construction, which pointed out that each city (district) should select 3-5 communities to carry out the pilot of complete community construction, and the main facilities include convenience stores, vegetable stores, canteens, etc
.
that meet the daily needs of residents.
Among them, the construction of canteens in the community has aroused widespread attention
.
In fact, community canteens are not a new thing, with the process of aging development in China, the elderly canteens equipped for aging communities have been steadily promoted
in various places.
Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other provinces and cities have introduced measures to promote the construction of state-run canteens and community elderly care canteens, focusing on promoting the "last mile"
of home care services.
The issuance of this notice will further promote the construction
of community canteens.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to improve people's livelihood and well-being and improve the quality of
people's lives.
"Opening community canteens that make cities more convenient and livable has become a practice
in implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
" Industry insiders said that the complete community carries people's yearning for
a better life.
Keeping pace with the times and adding to community services is not only a way to provide a guarantee for the elderly and weak, but also a way to make the city more convenient and livable
.

Let residents "eat well" and enjoy more benefits

Although the Longquan Community Canteen located in Chengguan Street, Linqu County, Weifang City, Shandong Province, has only recently hung up a signboard, Grandma Yang, who lives in Longquan Community, has become an "iron fan"
here.
At noon, Grandma Yang took her two grandchildren into the community canteen
on time.
"On the opening day, I brought my two children to taste the taste, and then I came to the big cafeteria every day to eat, which was good, affordable and convenient
.
" It is reported that there are nearly 2,000 elderly people over 60 years old in Longquan Community, and because their children are usually busy at work, cooking and eating alone has become a major problem
for them.
Since the opening of Longquan Canteen, three meals a day for the elderly in the community have been settled, which has greatly enhanced the sense of gain and happiness of residents
.
Considering the needs of the elderly in the community, the canteen has successively launched light, less oil, less salt and less sugar for the elderly
.
"From the feedback on the first day of opening, the residents are generally satisfied, and we will continue to improve the details proposed, and in the later stage, on the basis of the discount on the membership card, we will issue elderly coupons from time to time to allow residents to enjoy more benefits
.
" The director of Longquan Community said that various convenience services will be gradually increased to effectively implement the "good food" of residents in the jurisdiction
.

In order to meet the dining needs of the elderly in the jurisdiction, the second residential area of COSCO Liangwan City, Yichuan Road Street, Putuo District, Shanghai, plays the role of a bridge between guest halls, and opens up the "last mile" for the elderly with the service of "online ordering and home delivery"
.
The biggest highlight of the "online canteen" project after the opening is that residents can watch the food every day and book lunch on the same day, and the food is delivered to their homes for free, and the residents have also said that the neighborhood committee has done a great thing
that benefits the people.
In order to let more residents know about this new channel for convenience, the neighborhood committee also widely posted notices and door-to-door inquiries in the community to help the elderly in need to handle door-to-door meal delivery services
.

In addition to serving the elderly, the community canteen also warms a lot of "empty nest youth"
.
"A bowl of noodles with green onion oil, a cup of freshly beaten soy milk, and a fried dumpling.
"
The one who spoke was Chef Liu of the "Jiawei" canteen in the Jiahe Community of Gudang Street, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and when he saw the oncoming customer Xiao Liu, he had already reported the other party's breakfast menu
.
Xiao Liu swiped his rice card while smiling, "Every day I walk hundreds of meters, I can eat hot dishes and hot rice, which makes me feel
at home in Hangzhou.
" ”

Xiao Liu, 28, a tenant in the Jiahe community, moved here
a few years ago because of work.
Jiahe community is a typical modern community, with a permanent population of about 4,686 people, and there are many
"empty nest youths" like Xiao Liu.
These single young people, who have left their parents and hometown to work in big cities and live alone in rented housing, make up a quarter
of the community's population.
"How to eat well" has become the biggest problem
for this group in community life.
Since November this year, Jiahe Community has launched a canteen care implementation project to create a warm and happy family for "empty nest youth" in the jurisdiction and let them eat better
.
The canteen has launched an intimate service to take care of young people in the jurisdiction, and has done its homework on "taking into account the tastes of young people" and "extending business hours"
.
The canteen has light and easy-to-digest food suitable for the elderly, and will also target young people to burn some heavy and spicy dishes, so that young people also have a "dining check-in place"
.

In Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, community canteens were originally used as the content of the "15-minute elderly care service circle", unified construction and operation standards, and made full use of idle sites to be newly built, reconstructed or covered by chain catering enterprises
.
Because of the high quality and low price, Zhang Linyu, a retired researcher at Taiyuan Normal University, likes to eat bowls of noodles
at the community canteen in front of his home at noon.
He said that seven or eight yuan after the discount is enough, and sometimes he will eat dumplings or oil cakes
.
Zhang Kerui, a student at Taiyuan 37 Middle School, is also a frequent customer in the community canteen, and he can eat well
for about 15-20 yuan per meal.
At present, there are 175 community canteens in operation in Taiyuan, and a total of 300 will be built within this year, with 2.
33 million community canteen service orders, with an average daily service of about 10,000 people
.
By the end of 2025, Taiyuan plans to build a total of 500 community canteens
.

Not a good business

Convenience canteens are a community support that many elderly people and young people who cannot cook look forward to, and although the market demand is strong, it is not a good business
for restaurant operators.

"Although there are a lot of orders, they are only basically sustainable, and it is impossible
to make money by pointing to this.
" The person in charge of the Hua Wei Xili Pension Station in Chaoyang District, Beijing, said frankly that the price of vegetables has fluctuated since the beginning of this year, for example, the wholesale price of tomatoes has more than tripled at its peak, but the price of meals provided by the post station has remained unchanged, and the portion has not shrunk
.
"Each meal is filled with a whole box, which is basically enough for two meals for the elderly who do not have a large amount of food
.
" The person in charge said, "The elderly are price-sensitive consumers, and many of the people who come to order food here are old customers for many years, and we don't want to suddenly increase prices
.
" If the order volume drops, the cost increases
accordingly.
”

"More than 93% of residents look forward to building community canteens at their doorstep," a survey showed that community canteens are very popular among residents, but when asked about their satisfaction with existing community canteens, more than half of residents "shake their heads"
.
Over the years, community canteens have been rolled out in some places, and because of the advantages of cheap price, convenience and speed, they once circled a lot of "powder"
.
However, there are many
slots in addition to the excitement.
or "single taste", heavy oil and salt, and the meal is not scientific enough, "the elderly and children can't choose what they can eat"; or the business hours are not humane enough, there is breakfast and lunch but no dinner; Or environmental sanitation, food safety is not assuring.
.
.
All kinds of shortcomings have created a gap
between people's expectations and satisfaction.

Some elderly restaurants with prices closer to the market price have even been "complained" by many people because of "
too low cost performance".
Dishes at an elderly canteen near Guangqumen in Beijing's Dongcheng District charge for 3 yuan a tael by weight, and there is also a self-service staple
food for 3 yuan per person.
If the elderly eat a lot of food, it will cost nearly 30 yuan
to eat a meal.
"It's more than a pound if you put 3 dishes casually, it's better to eat chain fast food
.
" Ms.
Yuan, who had just finished the order, said that this was "not the same"
from the elderly restaurant she imagined.
Under the impact of the epidemic, it is difficult for catering enterprises to survive, and it is even more difficult
to operate community restaurants that focus on cost-effectiveness.

Public welfare should be taken as an important assessment standard

One person, one bowl, one spoonful, one chopstick
.
It seems to be a "small thing" of people's livelihood, but it actually adds the warm background
of the city of happiness and pass.
The community canteen is built at the doorstep, which is not only a convenient service project, but also enriches the structure of
the catering industry.
How can community canteens with public welfare attributes be sustainably operated?

"Community canteens mainly serve the silver-haired people, from taste to tableware aging, should be close to the needs of the elderly, and need more professional capabilities
.
" A relevant person in charge of a Beijing brand restaurant company said that the company also intends to enter the community canteen business, but also looks forward to clear support policies to balance the relationship between
convenience and profit.

Lou Wei, director of the Resource and Environmental Economy Research Office of the Institute of Ecological Civilization of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that community canteens have public welfare attributes, and public welfare should be taken as an important assessment standard from the beginning of investment promotion, and the access gate should be well controlled, and more flexible support policies should be continuously proposed, but they need to be mastered
.

Community canteens have their own unique operating logic
.
Compared with social catering, it has a certain public welfare, the profit is indeed not too high, and meeting the daily basic catering needs is the core business
.
Similar to the internal canteen, it also has a certain area, and the focus should be on meeting the demands
of its own community residents.
"Starting from the size and age of the audience, to the taste and price preference, the more thorough the research in advance and the clearer the positioning, the better the long-term account of the operation
.
" Industry insiders said
.

"The catering industry is one of the industries with the deepest degree of
marketization in China.
Community canteens that play a convenient function are also a supplement
to market catering institutions.
Lou Wei said that while exploring corresponding policy support, socialized operation should also be the mainstay
.
At the same time, catering establishments should also practice their internal skills
in terms of dishes, services and dining experience.

In addition, protecting the "happiness" of community residents also requires more support
from relevant departments and social forces.
"For example, government departments do a good job of providing operating subsidies and rent reductions as appropriate, so that community canteens have less operating pressure; Mobilize public welfare organizations to contribute to the situation, fully integrate social resources, and maximize
benefits.
Industry insiders said that only when government departments set up the stage to sing, social forces actively supplement, and operators work conscientiously, each taking their own responsibilities and performing their own duties, can community canteens take root
.

(Gu Yufei, comprehensive sorting)

China Food News(Version 02, December 13, 2022)

(Responsible editor: Han Songyan).