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On October 23rd, 11 departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the "Action Plan for Actively Developing Elderly Meal Assistance Services", which plans to significantly increase the coverage of elderly meal assistance services in urban and rural communities nationwide by the end of 2025, and form a certain scale of service network. By the end of 2026, the coverage rate of elderly meal assistance services in urban and rural communities across the country will further increase, the service network will be more complete, and a diversified supply pattern will be basically formed.

Ministry of Civil Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance

Human Resources and Social Security Department Natural Resources Department

Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce

Emergency Management Department, State Administration of Taxation, State Administration of Market Regulation

Regarding the issuance of the Action Plan for Actively Developing Elderly Meal Assistance Services

Notification of

Time: October 23, 2023 Source: Portal website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs

Minfa [2023] No. 58

People's governments of various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as various ministries and commissions of the State Council and directly affiliated institutions:

With the approval of the State Council, the "Action Plan for Actively Developing Elderly Meal Assistance Services" is hereby issued to you. Please carefully organize and implement it based on actual situations.

Ministry of Civil Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security

Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce

Emergency Management Department, State Administration of Taxation, State Administration of Market Regulation

October 20, 2023

(This matter has been publicly released)

Action Plan for Actively Developing Elderly Meal Assistance Services

Developing elderly meal assistance services is an important part of the implementation of the national strategy to actively respond to population aging and an important livelihood project. It is an important measure to support home-based community elderly care and enhance the well-being of the elderly. In order to deeply implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and actively develop elderly meal assistance services, this plan is formulated.

1、 Overall requirements

（1） Guiding ideology.   Build a shared elderly meal assistance service network to promote convenient, affordable, safe, reliable, and sustainable development of elderly meal assistance services.

（2） Work objectives. By the end of 2025, provinces that have implemented elderly meal assistance policies throughout the region will further extend services to urban and rural communities, making new progress in improving quality and efficiency; Provinces that are still implementing elderly meal assistance policies in some regions have achieved new breakthroughs in expanding their service coverage. The coverage rate of elderly meal assistance services in urban and rural communities across the country has significantly increased, and the service network has formed a certain scale. The efforts to provide meal assistance services to elderly people with special difficulties (including low-income populations such as those with minimum living allowances, those in extreme poverty, members of marginalized families with minimum living allowances, as well as elderly people living alone, empty-nest, left behind, disabled, disabled, elderly, and families with special family planning needs) have been further increased, and meal assistance services for other elderly people have been widely implemented. By the end of 2026, the coverage rate of elderly meal assistance services in urban and rural communities across the country will be further improved, the service network will be more complete, a diversified supply pattern will be basically formed, the sustainable development ability will be consolidated, and the convenience and satisfaction of elderly people's dining will be significantly improved. On this basis, we will continue to improve our service network and continuously improve the quality and level of elderly meal assistance services.

2、 Expand and optimize service supply

（3） Enhance service supply capacity. Various regions should comprehensively consider factors such as the size of the elderly population, demand for meal assistance services, and service radius within their jurisdiction, adhere to the combination of comprehensive utilization of existing resources and moderate construction, improve the configuration of elderly meal assistance facilities such as cafeterias, dining tables, and meal points, and optimize the functional layout. Incorporate elderly meal assistance facilities into the construction of the urban quarter hour home-based elderly care service circle and quarter hour convenient living circle, promoting convenient and accessible services. Support the addition of elderly cafeterias and other elderly meal assistance facilities in various elderly care service institutions and facilities, community comprehensive service facilities, and community embedded service facilities, and expand service functions. Encourage enterprises to participate in the construction and operation of elderly meal assistance service facilities, and provide elderly meal assistance services in cafeterias of government agencies, enterprises, and institutions with conditions, guiding property service enterprises to provide dining convenience for the elderly. Support catering enterprises to participate in elderly meal assistance services by operating elderly meal assistance facilities and opening elderly dining tables in community stores. In areas where existing resources cannot effectively cover or meet the needs of elderly meal assistance services, necessary facilities for elderly meal assistance services can be built according to local conditions.

（4） Optimize meal delivery services. Support catering enterprises in providing elderly food delivery services. Give full play to the role of internet platforms and logistics enterprises, and make full use of existing logistics networks to deliver meals to the elderly. Support eligible communities to set up centralized "delivery points" to provide convenience for delivering meals to residential areas and elderly people to pick up meals nearby. If it is difficult to utilize existing service resources and logistics networks to deliver meals to the elderly, we encourage and support the village (neighborhood) committee to organize relevant resources and efforts, with a focus on solving the problem of delivering meals to elderly people with mobility difficulties.

（5） Strengthen elderly meal assistance services in rural areas. Adopting inclined measures to support the expansion of service supply in rural areas, we can rely on conditional village level neighborly (neighborhood) mutual aid points, rural happiness centers, and other carriers to establish elderly cafeterias and elderly meal aid points. We can explore models such as neighborhood mutual assistance, the establishment of "central households" for multi household partnerships, and paired assistance, and flexibly and diversified solutions to the needs of elderly meal aid services in rural areas. Give full play to the role of rural grassroots party organizations and grassroots mass autonomous organizations, and widely mobilize party members, cadres, young and healthy elderly people and other groups to actively participate in elderly meal assistance services. Conditional village collective economic organizations may use collective economic income to support elderly meal assistance services, as determined by democratic procedures.

（6） Guide public welfare and charitable forces to actively participate. Encourage and guide charitable organizations, caring enterprises, and individuals to participate in elderly meal assistance services through charitable donations and other means. Encourage the exploration of models such as "service points" and "volunteer+credit", cultivate and develop a team of elderly meal assistance volunteers and mutual aid organizations, and establish a service evaluation incentive mechanism.

3、 Ensuring service quality

（7） Standardize service supply. Various regions should formulate norms for elderly meal assistance services based on actual conditions. Guide various elderly meal assistance service institutions to prioritize providing lunch services, provide breakfast and dinner services if conditions permit, and ensure the continuity and stability of meal assistance services; Based on the needs, consumption ability, and dietary habits of elderly people in the surrounding area, we will mix and match ingredients reasonably, develop recipes scientifically, and regularly update them. We will prioritize the supply of popular home cooked dishes to ensure that elderly people can eat fully, healthily, and with peace of mind; If conditions permit, full-time and part-time nutritionists can be equipped to provide personalized meals according to the needs of the elderly. Encourage elderly meal assistance service institutions to provide preferential services to elderly people with special difficulties, and support other elderly care services during non dining hours while meeting the needs of elderly meal assistance services.

（8） Improve the level of intelligent service management. Relying on the existing elderly care service information platform, we will conduct research on the demand for elderly meal assistance services and confirm key protection targets, strengthen data collection, integration, and sharing, and accurately connect with the diverse supply resources of elderly meal assistance services. On the basis of providing offline convenience services, we encourage the development of intelligent terminals and information management systems for elderly meal assistance services, and promote various forms of convenient and efficient intelligent services and management methods.

（9） Cultivate high-quality service brands. Guide elderly meal service institutions to carry out standardized construction, standardized management, and intelligent services, vigorously support chain operation, and actively promote the centralized meal supply model. Encourage catering enterprises participating in elderly meal assistance services to fulfill their social responsibilities, provide high-quality, affordable, and trustworthy meal assistance services for the elderly, and form a scale and brand effect. Create a group of distinctive, strong driving force, and outstanding demonstration effects of urban and rural elderly meal assistance service demonstration points and high-quality service brands.

4、 Ensure sustainable service

（10） Provide facility and venue support. In the construction of supporting elderly care service facilities in newly built urban areas and residential areas, and in the replenishment of elderly care service facilities in old urban areas and existing residential areas, we will simultaneously solve the problems of elderly meal assistance service facilities construction or site use. Support the coordinated utilization, co construction and sharing of elderly meal assistance service facilities, community comprehensive service facilities, convenient commercial service facilities, and living service industry resources. After fulfilling the relevant state-owned asset management procedures according to regulations, idle properties of government agencies and public institutions can be used for elderly meal assistance services through adjustment, leasing, transfer, and other means. Encourage areas with conditions to provide corresponding subsidies and support for the renovation and expansion of existing facilities for elderly meal assistance services.

（11） Increase operational support efforts. Establish a diversified financing mechanism that includes "individual contributions, corporate concessions, government subsidies, collective contributions, and social donations" to support elderly meal service institutions in providing stable and sustainable services. Places with conditions can comprehensively consider the number and quality of meal assistance services, as well as the satisfaction of the elderly, and provide certain operational subsidies or comprehensive reward subsidies to elderly meal assistance service institutions. For elderly meal assistance service institutions that meet the conditions, tax and fee preferential policies shall be implemented according to regulations, and the prices for water, electricity, gas, and heat shall be implemented according to regulations. Encourage various regions to introduce preferential policies for enterprises and actively mobilize social forces to participate in elderly meal assistance services. Support qualified business entities to equally participate in elderly meal assistance services and enjoy relevant preferential policies.

（12） Implement classified subsidies for dining. Adhere to paid services, and where conditions permit, differentiated subsidies can be given to elderly people who enjoy meal assistance services based on their economic difficulties and disability levels, taking into account the local economic development level and financial situation. The scope, methods, and standards of subsidies will be determined by local civil affairs departments at all levels in conjunction with financial departments. Where conditions permit, meal assistance services for elderly people with special difficulties can be included in the local basic elderly care service list. Support various regions to distribute elderly meal assistance vouchers and other means to enable elderly people to enjoy visible benefits.

5、 Strengthen quality and safety supervision

（13） Responsibilities of all parties involved in compaction. Strengthen territorial management responsibilities, implement the food safety responsibility system for local party and government leaders at all levels, and improve the systems of food safety assurance, supervision and assessment, emergency response, and accountability for elderly meal assistance services. Elderly meal service institutions should carry out food business activities in accordance with laws, regulations, and food safety standards, establish and improve systems for raw material control, tableware and beverage cleaning and disinfection, and food sample retention. They should strictly implement requirements such as food safety self inspection, problem rectification, and potential risk reporting. Elderly meal assistance service institutions that use group meal delivery methods should sign a meal supply contract with the meal supply unit, designate a dedicated person to inspect the food provided by the meal supply unit, and strictly control the quality. Effectively grasp the safety production work of elderly meal service places, strengthen the management of personal safety, fire safety, etc. in services, and prevent various safety risks. Encourage elderly meal service institutions to purchase food safety and other related liability insurance.

（14） Strengthen daily supervision. The relevant management departments of elderly meal assistance services shall jointly carry out spot checks and inspections in accordance with their responsibilities, and publish daily food safety supervision and management information in accordance with regulations. Regularly evaluate the price and quality of elderly meal assistance services, and dynamically adjust support policies for elderly meal assistance service institutions based on the satisfaction of the elderly. Those who fail to implement food safety management, operational management, and other regulations shall be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations.

（15） Strengthen social supervision. We encourage qualified catering service agencies for the elderly to openly display catering service related processes in a transparent and visual manner, and accept social supervision through "Internet plus+Bright Kitchen" and other means. Encourage the invitation of elderly people and community residents' representatives to participate in food safety inspections. Smooth channels for complaint reporting and timely and effective resolution of reasonable demands from the public.

6、 Strengthen implementation guarantee

（16） Strengthen organizational leadership. Each region should establish and improve a mechanism for elderly meal assistance services under the leadership of Party committees, government responsibility, departmental collaboration, social participation, and family responsibility. The development of elderly meal assistance services should be regarded as an important part of practical work for the people, and included in the overall deployment and overall promotion of the construction of home community elderly care service networks and elderly care service systems. It should be included in the evaluation index system for actively responding to population aging to promote implementation; According to the requirements of this plan, formulate an implementation plan or refine and improve the existing plan based on the actual situation. The county-level people's government should coordinate and organize the implementation of elderly meal assistance services within its jurisdiction, and continuously adjust and optimize policy measures; Towns (streets) should do a good job in specific implementation and implementation work, and village (neighborhood) committees should actively assist in relevant work. The central government should provide support for local elderly meal assistance services and incorporate the development of elderly meal assistance services into the incentive work related to the construction of the elderly care service system.

（17） Clarify departmental responsibilities. Relevant departments should take the initiative and cooperate with each other, vigorously support the work of elderly meal assistance services, and effectively form a working force. The civil affairs department should fulfill its leading responsibilities, rely on various levels of elderly work committees, strengthen organizational coordination, supervision and guidance. The development and reform departments should integrate elderly meal assistance services into special plans related to economic and social development, and strengthen the capacity of elderly meal assistance services in the construction of the central budget to support the elderly care service system. The financial department should implement financial and tax support policies in accordance with regulations, and strengthen the supervision of the standardized use of funds. The human resources and social security department should implement employment support policies, encourage and support elderly meal service institutions to attract key groups for employment, and provide subsidies according to regulations. The natural resources department should coordinate and plan the spatial layout of elderly meal service facilities, ensure and standardize land supply. The housing and urban-rural development department should coordinate and promote the construction of elderly meal assistance facilities in conjunction with the renovation of old urban communities and the pilot construction of complete communities. The agricultural and rural departments should make the work of rural elderly meal assistance services an important part of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization, and coordinate the tilt of rural public service resources towards elderly meal assistance services. The business department should actively guide eligible catering, commercial logistics enterprises, and internet platforms to participate in elderly meal assistance services. The tax department should implement tax reduction and preferential policies in the field of elderly meal assistance services. Market regulatory authorities should work with relevant industry regulatory authorities to strengthen food safety supervision of elderly meal assistance services. Fire rescue agencies and other departments should strengthen fire supervision and inspection of elderly meal service places in accordance with the law. Other relevant departments shall fulfill their responsibilities in providing elderly meal assistance services.

（18） Do a good job of supervision and guidance. Each region should start from reality, respect the wishes of the masses, actively and steadily explore unique, flexible and diverse ways of elderly meal assistance services; Avoid formalism, avoid resource waste, prevent "one size fits all" and "one size fits all" actions, and promptly correct any problems found. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, in conjunction with relevant departments, should strengthen dynamic tracking, supervise and guide various regions to orderly promote the expansion and quality improvement of elderly meal assistance services based on the existing work foundation; Conduct timely work evaluation, summarize and promote experience and practices, and effectively implement them; Pay attention to publicity and guidance, and actively create a good atmosphere for the whole society to care for the elderly and support elderly meal assistance services.