Among the 15 cities and counties in South Chungcheong Province, Cheongyang County, which has the highest proportion of elderly population, will start providing free meals at senior citizen centers for the first time in the nation next year.
According to Cheongyang County on the 26th, the county has decided to select 10 senior citizen centers as pilot project sites in the first half of next year and provide meal kits and side dishes every week.
In the second half, the county plans to operate a lunchbox processing plant in the food comprehensive town to expand the free meal service to 50 sites.
As of November, the population of Cheongyang is 29,646.
Among them, 15,513 are aged 60 and over, accounting for 52.3% of the total, classifying it as a high-risk area for population decline nationwide.
Kim Dong-gon, the county governor of Cheongyang, said, creating an environment where residents struggling with low birth rates and an aging population do not have to worry about a single meal is a responsibility of the local government, adding, I will promote the nation's first free meal program at senior citizen centers to build a small but strong Cheongyang County.