Warm Meals Wash Away Elderly Depression... Changes Brought by Free Five-Day Weekly Meals at Senior Centers

Free Balanced Meals Provided to Prevent Elderly Isolation
Elderly Finding Vitality, Depression Also Alleviated
Professional Discussions Needed for Stable Policy Implementation

Around noon on the 11th, at the Gamrocheon Senior Center in Doksan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, elderly people with graying hair were enjoying their meal and chatting. The lunch menu that day was jajang rice bowl, soybean paste soup, kimchi, and fried dumplings. Grandmother Kim Chun-ok (80) has been coming to the senior center daily and recently stopped taking depression medication that she had been on for over a year.

Grandmother Kim said, “At first, it was hard to prepare meals by myself, so I came here, but after coming to the senior center and talking about my children and life, I regained my vitality,” and she smiled, saying, “One day when I went to the hospital, the doctor told me I could stop taking the depression medicine.”

On the afternoon of the 11th, around 12 PM, elderly people were lining up to receive food at the Gamrocheon Senior Center in Doksan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Seongah Sim]

As the number of elderly living alone increases, more seniors find it difficult to prepare meals by themselves, and the policy of providing meals five days a week at senior centers is emerging as a new welfare initiative for the elderly. This not only solves the meal problem but also helps support a healthy and active life for seniors.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s “Survey on the Status of the Elderly,” depressive symptoms become more prevalent with age. The rate of depressive symptoms is 8.4% among those aged 65-69, 12.3% for 70-74, 15.6% for 75-79, 19.7% for 80-84, and 24% for those 85 and older.

This phenomenon is expected to worsen with the increase in elderly single-person households. In 2018, there were 1,444,588 single-person households aged 65 and over, steadily increasing to 1,973,416 in 2022. Lee Soon-ja (78), the secretary of an apartment senior center in Doksan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, explained, “Those living alone are more vulnerable to depression,” adding, “Just coming to the senior center every day, eating well, and talking with others greatly improves their symptoms.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced last month that it plans to expand meal provision to five days a week starting from the 1st of this month. A budget of 80.03 billion won has been allocated this year for about 68,000 senior centers nationwide. Seoul City also prepared an additional budget of 4.7 billion won on the 28th of last month and submitted it to the Seoul Metropolitan Council to provide lunch five days a week at 3,489 senior centers within the city. Accordingly, many local governments, including Jongno-gu, Seongbuk-gu, and Mapo-gu, are considering implementing five-day meal provision at senior centers starting in the second half of the year.

However, concerns about sustainability arise as charitable policies increase without fundamental alternatives. According to Statistics Korea, South Korea will enter a super-aged society next year, with the elderly population aged 65 and over exceeding 20% of the total population.

By 2034, ten years from now, 29% of the population will be elderly, accounting for one-third of the total population. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s budget for elderly welfare was 23.0324 trillion won last year, and this year’s budget increased by 10.5% to 25.448 trillion won. With welfare budgets increasing uncontrollably, it is a critical time to reflect on the approaching super-aged society.

Experts emphasize the need for a more detailed approach to establish sustainable policies. Professor Lee Sol-ji of the Department of Social Welfare at Dongmyung University said, “It is desirable to avoid charitable policies, but when necessary, clear standards and specific plans for implementation are essential,” advising, “For policies to be sustainable, the concrete effects and methods of providing meals five days a week must be proven, and resources should be secured based on professional policy evidence.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.