Monthly 10,000-won dining subsidy covers 171 senior centers through December
Funds usable at local restaurants and delivery services, boosting neighborhood commerce
Songpa-gu in Seoul is launching a monthly "dining out day" for senior residents who use local senior centers.
The district began the "Senior Center Dining Out Day" program in September, targeting some 3,900 seniors who take lunch at 171 senior centers across the district. The program runs through December, with a total budget of 156 million won ($115,000) allocated to provide each participant with 10,000 won per month for meals. The funds were secured through a supplementary budget passed this year.
The initiative was designed to ease the daily burden on seniors who prepare and clean up after lunch at their centers every day. The idea is to give them one day a month to enjoy a meal at a nearby restaurant and socialize, instead of cooking and washing dishes themselves.
Dining subsidies are calculated based on the number of seniors taking lunch at each center and deposited directly into the center's account. A center with 30 lunch participants, for example, would receive 30,000 won per month. The first payment, covering September, is scheduled for Tuesday.
The funds may be used at restaurants within Songpa-gu or for food delivery orders, but cannot be spent on groceries or alcohol.
The district expects the program to bring more energy to seniors' daily lives and create opportunities for greater interaction among neighbors.
It also anticipates that encouraging visits to nearby eateries will help revitalize small businesses and alley commerce around senior centers.
"We created Dining Out Day to ease, even a little, the hard work seniors put in preparing meals every day at their centers, and to give them a chance to share good food and enjoy time together," District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "We will continue to push forward with inclusive welfare policies that seniors can feel directly in their everyday lives."
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