Having a hot meal for every dinner is a heartfelt wish for many senior citizens. Surveys indicate that 22.1% of elderly individuals face difficulties in cooking and eating, with special needs among those who are disabled, advanced in age, or living alone making access to meal services particularly urgent. Addressing these practical challenges requires both government coordination to ensure basic needs are met through targeted policies adapted to local conditions, and the full utilization of market mechanisms to establish a reasonably distributed, affordable, and safe elderly meal assistance network.

Taobao Snap Purchase has actively participated in the development of Beijing's elderly meal assistance service system, creating a model centered on "government-enterprise collaboration, standard setting, and safety assurance." In collaboration with the Xicheng District Civil Affairs Bureau, the platform launched the "Parents' Canteen—Online Elderly Meal Assistance Zone," offering discounted meal packages for seniors while leveraging digital capabilities and professional delivery services to ensure efficient door-to-door meal delivery. Additionally, Taobao Snap Purchase has established "Elderly Assistance Delivery Teams" composed of riders in several sub-districts across Xicheng and Chaoyang Districts, delivering community canteen meals daily to older, solitary, and disabled seniors.

In recent years, various regions have explored service models such as "Elderly Canteens," "Community Canteens," "Senior Dining Tables," and "Meal Delivery for the Elderly," achieving significant results. On one hand, local governments have integrated elderly care services into public welfare projects, included meal assistance in basic service lists, and allocated more resources to home-based care. On the other hand, they have pursued market-oriented, chain-based, and sustainable models for meal assistance and home-community elderly care, encouraging diverse entities to participate. The evolution of elderly meal assistance services reflects the high-quality development of elderly care overall.

While widely welcomed by seniors, providing meal assistance remains a challenging民生 undertaking. The specific requirements regarding location, timing, and meal variety necessitate a collaborative mechanism involving government, market, and social forces. Addressing the cooking and eating difficulties of homebound elderly is particularly critical.

For seniors capable of cooking, encouraging self-sufficiency in daily meals is advisable, as involvement in household chores helps maintain independence and mitigates chronic disease and disability risks. However, many older, solitary, frail, or disabled individuals struggle to cook independently, often facing irregular or inadequate meals. Government efforts in universal, market-based, and public welfare meal services enable those willing to visit canteens to enjoy convenient, tasty meals nearby. For the more vulnerable, a collaborative "government + enterprise + society" model becomes essential.

In cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, a growing number of seniors can now enjoy hot, light, and palatable meals at home, even requesting taste preferences and receiving personalized care from delivery personnel. Recently, Taobao Snap Purchase has partnered with local governments to upgrade meal services from basic support to empowerment. In Beijing, riders from nearby stations form "Community Assistance Squads" to deliver meals, groceries, and medicines to older, empty-nest, and solitary seniors, using digital platforms to create service grids. In Shanghai, the platform initiated an "AI + Elderly Meal Assistance" pilot, distributing "Wanli AI Meal Vouchers" to 100 seniors in the Wanli Sub-district, enabling them to place orders via voice commands through smart terminals like the Qianwen App.

Simultaneously, AI-enabled "one-command meal ordering" allows the silver-haired generation to enjoy the conveniences of digital inclusion. Data from Taobao Snap Purchase shows that 1.56 million users aged 60 and above tried the service for the first time due to AI features. In county areas, nearly 10% of AI shopping users are over 50 years old. Collaborating with the China Ageing Association and other foundations, Taobao Snap Purchase has codified these practices by releasing the first group standard, "Digital Service Specifications for Elderly Meal Assistance," providing a replicable operational manual nationwide.

The deep involvement of platforms like Taobao Snap Purchase demonstrates how "effective markets" and "capable governments" can jointly address challenges. Continuing to promote technology for good, leveraging technical solutions for elderly meal assistance, represents a viable path to solving nutrition-related elderly care issues. As policy benefits are precisely implemented, social forces widely participate, and service details are continuously refined, "a bowl of hot rice" can bridge health and happiness, truly elevating "elderly support" to "dignified ageing."