Imagine Tamil Nadu’s Amma Canteens, which serve fresh and nutritious food at a fraction of the usual cost, being run across the country, catering especially to the elderly. In China, that's not a dream. State-subsidised canteens for the elderly have been running for at least the last four years — a legacy of the Covid era.

For the millions of elderly people left behind in villages while their children work in cities, these canteens are a real boon. The hassle of buying groceries, cooking and washing up, especially during the bitter cold winters, is taken care of for as little as one or two yuan a meal (one yuan is about 14 rupees) in some villages, and 10-15 yuan in cities. For those over 90, meals are free, something these old timers find difficult to believe after having witnessed pre-Liberation feudal China, and then seeing it transform from a communist system to almost a free market economy.

Yet some economists have sounded the alarm that these subsidised canteens signal the return of a planned economy, undoing decades of reform. The government has been forced to issue a justification that these canteens can be
considered community services designed by the State to meet the daily needs of the elderly, not an attempt to revive the old 'communal dining' pattern. A State-owned newspaper carried an editorial arguing that these canteens merely provided China’s ageing society another dining option without replacing private restaurants.

Ironically, the market is, at least, partly responsible for the closure of many such canteens. For Indians, it may seem difficult to believe that the demand for such cheap and nutritious meals has fallen short of expectations. Some Chinese elders feel that there is not enough variety in the meals; others can’t move out of their homes every day, although a few villages even have home delivery services. Still others prefer the meals that their children send them through food delivery apps that offer huge discounts.

In fact, these canteens are not at all a return to Mao’s era. They are run by private entrepreneurs who receive the support of local governments for initial building costs and permits and a continuing subsidy of a few yuan per meal. But when local governments face financial problems, the subsidies often dry up. Since raising the price of meals is out of the question, some owners simply close down their canteens when the losses become too much. Senior citizens who had bought prepaid discount cards are left high and dry.

What has helped keep these canteens stay afloat, especially in cities, is the growing patronage by a segment of the population that they were never meant to cater to: the youth. For many young city-dwellers who work long hours, these canteens have become a viable alternative. Although they are not eligible for the subsidies that are available to elderly citizens, they consider these meals, which are generally 20% cheaper than in regular restaurants, good value for money. "Where else will I get a full meal of two meat dishes, one vegetable and rice for 25 yuan?" one young shop assistant told this diarist, adding that the canteen food was less greasy and fresher than restaurant fare.

Two studies have found that these canteens have resulted in better physical and mental health among the elders who frequent them than those living in neighbourhoods without such facilities. Access to balanced meals at regular hours, combined with the opportunity to eat in the company of others, seems to have made a difference.

The question is: will the world’s largest communist party make these canteens mandatory for local governments to ensure the well-being of this growing segment of their population by providing sustained subsidies? Or will 'socialism with Chinese characteristics' prevail?