Hong Kong’s sixth “Love Restaurants: Enjoy Your Meal” elderly dining voucher scheme was launched on September 8, with distribution scheduled to start on September 16 through more than 200 elderly centres across the city. About 70,000 beneficiaries are expected to receive the vouchers.
Each eligible senior will receive a set of eight vouchers, which can be redeemed for designated afternoon-tea sets at a subsidised price of HK$18. The vouchers will be valid from October 1 to November 30.
The vouchers can be used at eight participating catering groups: Café de Coral, Fairwood, Tai Hing, Maxim’s, McDonald’s, Ngan Lung Restaurant, Pizza Hut and KFC.
The scheme is aimed at individual seniors and couples, including isolated or “hidden” elderly people. It is intended to encourage social participation and help participants maintain greater contact with the community.
More than 290,000 sets of meal vouchers were distributed during the first five rounds. The proportion collected by people who were not members of elderly centres rose from 15% in the first round to about 30% in the fifth, which Chief Secretary Eric Chan described as showing that the scheme had reached seniors with less contact with community services.
Chan presided over the launch ceremony and thanked the organisations taking part, presenting certificates of appreciation to representatives of eight catering establishments. The sixth-round distribution is due to begin on September 16, ahead of the vouchers’ October 1 start date.