Volunteers reopen free canteen for seniors

A group of volunteers in Hukou county, Jiangxi province, have chipped in to reopen a village canteen to provide free meals for the local elderly residents.

Chenhetangwan village in the county once had a government-sponsored canteen, but the limited annual budget of 10,000 yuan ($1,400) made it unfeasible for it to provide free meals to the seniors and so it was forced to close.

The small village of only 400 residents has 60 residents over the age of 65, and the closure of the canteen meant that these people no longer had a cheap and convenient place to eat.

Local Chen Yingpeng saw this and decided to round up a group of volunteers and open a new canteen to feed the elderly.

The canteen, known as the Happiness Canteen, is located next to the village activity center and has the capacity to accommodate over 50 diners at a time.

"I grew up in this village, so I'm familiar with the needs of our senior residents," Chen said. "Many of them are living alone, often without spouses, which makes it difficult for them to cook for themselves at home. So I gathered a group of kindhearted villagers to raise funds and set up a free canteen."