How many dishes can I eat for 18 yuan? In the community cafeteria in Chongqing Minzhu Village, the answer is 23 dishes.

Ten meat dishes, six vegetarian dishes, rice, noodles, steamed corn, and soup and fruits... In the community canteen of Minzhu Village, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, such a buffet is priced at 18 yuan. Elderly people over 60 can also enjoy a 3 yuan subsidy, which will turn into 15 yuan per meal. Due to the variety of choices and affordable prices, this community canteen is very popular among the elderly around.

This aunt is 70 years old this year, has good teeth and loves to eat meat. Although she had to take two bus stops from home to the cafeteria, it did not prevent her from becoming a regular customer. Let’s look at this aunt. She is 87 years old this year. The fried and bone-shaped ones can’t bite them anymore. Her favorite is the egg custard and steamed pork that are available in the cafeteria every day.

Chongqing citizen Wang Zhiming: We elderly people have not walked far, so it is convenient to come here to eat. Today, a few of our friends have a party, so I came here to have dinner again.

In the community canteen in the democratic village, you can often see the elderly eating while chatting and laughing. This was once the oldest old factory dependent district in Chongqing.

Due to the aging facilities and worrying environment, it was listed as a pilot project for urban renewal in early 2022. At that time, the newly opened residential square specially designed this community canteen. In the democratic village, there are more than 2,400 people over 60 years old, and more than one-third are in an empty nest state. The difficulty in cooking is a problem that everyone generally reflects. In addition to building the canteen at the doorstep, volunteers will also help deliver food to their doorsteps when they encounter elderly people who have difficulties going out. As community canteens become more and more famous, this Tuesday attracted the attention of a foreign press group.

Polish reporter Yurien: I saw that retired people are closely linked to the community, and the first time I came here, I was very impressed.

Reporter: How many times did you come to this cafeteria for dinner?

Chongqing citizen Liu Zhiwei: I am here every day, having two meals a day, at noon and supper.

Mr. Liu is 82 years old this year. The dishes he chose are relatively light, mainly egg custard, cabbage, and a little rice. He told reporters that he suffered from diabetes. As he grew older, he had a lot of difficulty in making a low-sugar and low-fat diabetic diet at home, so he simply came to the cafeteria with his wife every day.

The Democratic Village is located in the center of the business district, with high-rise buildings around it. Many white-collar workers and staff from various industries are also facing the problem of difficulty in having lunch. Is the buffet worth 18 yuan, can you make money to make a name for yourself? The canteen operator revealed that the balance of income and expenditure has been basically achieved, and a slight profit of 3 to 5,000 yuan per month can be made. The surrounding office workers have accounted for more than 30% of the daily customer base.

Head of the Community Canteen of Democratic Village Li Heng: If we also use weighing or selling portions of meals, the canteen may not be so competitive and cannot attract these young people to eat in the canteen. 40% of our meat dishes are spicy dishes and more spicy dishes, which young people can take care of.

In order to continue operating for a long time, the community canteen of Democratic Village is still trying to reduce the cost of employment. I chose to cooperate with a clean vegetable supplier. The dishes delivered every day are washed and cut, and can be put into the pot directly, saving 3 to 4 people. The cafeteria also purchased two cooking robots, which can make more than 500 dishes. There is no longer a chef with a monthly salary of tens of thousands of yuan. The staff can fry 8 to 10 kilograms of dishes in 10 to 15 minutes by just knowing the button and putting in the ingredients.

Now, there are only 6 staff members in the kitchen of the canteen, but it can fully meet the dining needs of 600 people per day. In addition to increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, what they most look forward to is that Chongqing City will issue a document to charge electricity, water and gas for eligible elderly meal aid service institutions, from commercial to civilian.