By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-14 12:23:13 | Updated at 2025-01-14 23:45:34
11 hours ago
About 50,000 elderly Hong Kong residents will be given coupons allowing them to enjoy meals such as baked pork chop rice and fish burgers for HK$25 (US$3.20) under a government-funded programme to support the needy.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said at the launch ceremony on Tuesday that everyone in the scheme would be given five coupons which they could use to pay a discounted price of HK$25 for each of five designated meals offered at restaurants of the groups taking part.
The five restaurant groups in the Caring Food Coupon Programme are Fairwood, Cafe de Coral, Tai Hing, Maxim’s and McDonald’s.
Chan said about 50,000 residents, including people living alone or only with a spouse, as well as the “hidden elderly” – those not known to community networks – were identified through 214 centres for the aged across the city.
“Seniors living alone or only with their spouse as well as the ‘hidden elderly’ usually lack interpersonal support networks,” he said.
“We hope that through this programme, we can make them feel warm, and also establish closer ties with them through centres for the elderly … to help them better integrate into the community.”
He added: “This programme fully demonstrates the power of cross-sector collaboration among government, business and the public working together to convey society’s care for the elderly.”
