In Nanjing's Qixia District, elderly assistance delivery rider Xiao Ma has developed a special door-knocking technique for Grandma Xi, who suffers from severe hearing loss: knock three times with ten-second intervals, then loudly announce, "Grandma Xi, your meal is here!" He also keeps track of each elderly person's specific needs, such as making softer meals for Grandma Fang's spouse and remembering that Uncle Li has medical check-ups every Wednesday.

Since the "Parents' Canteen · Elderly Assistance e-Dining" project launched in Qixia District's Maigaoqiao Street Shanshui Garden Community and Xigang Street Tingzhu Community, Xiao Ma and his colleagues have become the most welcomed visitors among the elderly residents.

Despite the passing of the Chushu solar term, cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou continue experiencing high temperatures. To better ensure the "Elderly Assistance e-Dining" meal delivery service continues smoothly, on September 1st, Taobao Flash Purchase and Ele.me Public Welfare distributed care packages to 160 elderly assistance delivery riders.

Latest data shows that elderly assistance delivery riders from seven cities deliver meals to nearly 3,000 solitary elderly people daily, having completed over 860,000 deliveries in total.

Daily meal delivery riders for the elderly must overcome high-temperature weather while also monitoring seniors' physical conditions during deliveries, bearing more hardship and responsibility compared to other riders. Therefore, they became the first group to receive dedicated care packages under the Orange Care Plan, which included neck-hanging fans, 3C-certified high-capacity power banks, Tmall Supermarket shopping cards, and 10 bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid per person provided by Huarun Sanjiu Group.

In June last year, Shanghai's Putuo District Civil Affairs Bureau collaborated with Ele.me and Leyang Public Welfare to launch the nation's first "government-enterprise-charity" elderly meal assistance service cooperation model. This model focuses on the pickup and delivery characteristics of elderly meal services, innovating delivery solutions and service standards while using digital methods to provide daily door-to-door meal delivery for district-wide solitary, elderly, and disadvantaged seniors.

This model gradually expanded nationwide and, through practical refinement and upgrades, formed the "Elderly Assistance e-Dining" comprehensive digital solution for door-to-door meal delivery services for seniors.

Eligible elderly people can place meal orders through civil affairs mini-programs, the Ele.me app, and other platforms, with daily deliveries by Taobao Flash Purchase and Ele.me riders, while directly enjoying government and charitable fund elderly assistance subsidies online.

The key difference between this service and regular food delivery is the adoption of a "familiar delivery" model. The "Elderly Assistance e-Dining" community dedicated delivery team consists of excellent riders who undergo professional training. The service adopts a "one pickup, multiple delivery points" model to improve delivery efficiency and reduce costs, while ensuring meal delivery quality and warmth, allowing delivery riders to become familiar faces to the elderly and increase their sense of security.

Beyond solving elderly dining issues, the "familiar delivery" model serves as a safety protection network for solitary elderly people aging at home. On June 20th this year, elderly assistance delivery rider Liu Zhuangzhuang discovered that elderly Mr. Zheng hadn't opened his door for an unusually long time during meal delivery. Having mastered handling procedures for such situations through previous work training, Liu promptly reported the abnormal situation to the station and neighborhood committee staff through work groups after waiting several minutes without response, ultimately saving Mr. Zheng who had suffered a sudden stroke.

Similar cases occurred last year in Hangzhou's Xihu District Xixi Street.

Beyond providing community protection, "Elderly Assistance e-Dining" must ensure uninterrupted elderly services during emergency situations. When Typhoon "Chanthu" struck Shanghai this summer, under advance deployment by Putuo District Civil Affairs Bureau, Leyang collaborated with Taobao Flash Purchase and Ele.me to activate emergency response plans. All project participants coordinated closely, with elderly assistance delivery riders working through wind and rain to ensure over 1,000 elderly assistance meals were delivered on time that day.