Senior citizens in one part of Nanjing enjoying special meals provided by a local restaurant have provided the impetus for an enhanced government-run version of the service that encompasses the entire catering industry chain in care for the elderly.
It’s approaching 11:00, lunchtime in China, and the door of Liping Restaurant seems inconspicuous. Located at 8 Huayuan Lu in Nanjing’s Xuanwu District, Liping has for 7 years been serving up nutritious meals to local seniors.
快到11:00了，中国的午餐时间，丽萍餐厅的门显得不起眼。丽萍位于南京市玄武区花园路8号，7年来一直为当地老年人提供营养餐。
That’s all down to a good samaritan by the name of Zhou Liping. Back in 2015, Zhou, Liping’s owner noticed that there were many elderly people in nearby communities.
这一切都归功于一位好心人周丽萍。早在2015年，丽萍的业主周某就注意到附近社区有很多老人。
Coming to eat in Zhou’s restaurant, many would talk to her about the inconveniences of eating at home. Many had children who are far away and not able to help their parents in any way, while others found their three meals at home to be just so so.
来到周女士的餐厅吃饭，很多人都会和她谈论在家吃饭的不便。许多人的孩子在很远的地方，无法以任何方式帮助父母，而另一些人则发现他们在家的三顿饭也很一般。
For many seniors, the act of eating in itself is also problematic, and maintaining meals which are both healthy and tasty a tremendous challenge.
对于许多老年人来说，饮食本身也是有问题的，保持膳食既健康又美味是一个巨大的挑战。
This worried the filial and kind Zhou. So she set up an elderly-care meal service operating out of her own restaurant. Now, for the past 7 years, Zhou and her team have been providing local seniors with delicious and nutritious dishes in a comfortable dining environment, accompanied by kind and warm service.
这让孝顺善良的周某很担心。于是，她在自己的餐厅里开设了一家老年餐饮服务店。如今，7年来，周女士和她的团队一直在为当地老年人提供美味营养的菜肴、舒适的就餐环境和亲切热情的服务。
For them, Liping is not only a place to eat. It is also a place for old neighbours to talk and exchange feelings, reports Nanjing PSA (南京发布).
对于他们来说，黎平不仅仅是一个吃饭的地方。据南京PSA报道，这里也是老邻居们交谈、交流感情的地方。
Comments given to reporters included, ”I have been eating here for 6 years, rain or shine”; “Of course it’s delicious. If it’s not, can I come here every day?”, and, “This is for the elderly. It solved our problem of eating”.
给记者的评论包括：“无论风雨无阻，我已经在这里吃了六年了”； “当然好吃，如果不好吃，我可以每天都来吗？”，“这是给老人吃的，解决了我们的吃饭问题”。
Now, Zhou’s increasingly well-known personal initiative has recently caught the attention of Xuanwu Lake Subdistrict, as part of Xuanwu’s optimisation of its elderly care service system.
如今，作为宣武县优化养老服务体系的一部分，周永康这一日益知名的个人举措近日引起了玄武湖街道的关注。
Zhou hence was soon working with the Subdistrict’s staff, to coordinate purchase, cleaning, cooking, meal distribution and delivery for those who need it. Each part of the chain is considered; nutritionists are on hand to mix and match nutritious dishes, and consider seniors with special needs.
于是，周某很快就与街道工作人员合作，协调采购、清洁、做饭、配餐、送货等工作。考虑链条的每个部分；营养师随时混合搭配营养菜肴，并考虑有特殊需要的老年人。
In the interim, Liping has also grown from its one location to now have four branches, spread far and wide across Xuanwu, with the others being in Xinjiekou and Xiaolingwei subdistricts.
在此期间，黎平也从原来的一家，发展到现在拥有四家分店，遍布宣武各地，其他分店分布在新街口和小岭围街道。
Liping is now serving approximately 600 seniors every day. Over the course of 7 years of operation, it is estimated they have helped feed nearly one million of Nanjing’s elderly.
李平现在每天为大约600名老年人提供服务。运营7年以来，估计已经帮助解决了近百万南京老人的吃饭问题。
