Supplementary Budget of 680 Million Won Allocated to Provide Lunch Five Days a Week at Senior Centers
Expected to Alleviate Social Isolation and Improve Health of Elderly, Revitalize Senior Centers
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) announced that it will expand lunch support at senior centers to five days a week.
As the super-aged population increases, senior centers are playing a role not only as places for seniors to spend their leisure time but also as care facilities, making the provision of lunch increasingly important.
On February 23, the supplementary budget to expand food subsidies for senior centers passed the district council, confirming a budget of 680 million KRW.
The district supports seniors using 74 senior centers to have stable lunch meals through food subsidies, monthly operating subsidies, government grain support, and dispatching lunch helpers.
With the confirmation of this supplementary budget, senior centers that previously provided lunch two to three times a week can now expand meal support up to five days a week upon request.
Approximately 1,700 seniors using the senior centers will be able to have lunch every day.
The district plans to conduct a demand survey from March to April to identify the number of lunch users per senior center and then provide additional food subsidies.
The district is promoting various projects to enhance seniors' welfare. It operates Seoul’s first convenience stores for seniors, “Good Store 1, 2, and 3,” and in 2021 received certification as an age-friendly city from the World Health Organization (WHO). This year, it plans to establish a customized complex facility for seniors that offers culture, leisure, health, jobs, and meals.
Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, stated, “Providing lunch five days a week at senior centers is expected not only to help alleviate seniors’ social isolation and improve their health but also to activate the use of senior centers.”
For more details, inquiries can be made to the Senior and Disabled Division of Geumcheon-gu Office.
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