Children in Japan bring cheer to nursing homes by popping by for meals once a month

TOKYO: On most days, elderly living at a care facility housed in a Tokyo condominium eat their three meals a day with one another. 

But once a month, the seniors, many of whom live independently with minimal assistance at the home managed by Sompo Care, look forward to lunchtime visits from unlikely companions – children from the neighbourhood. 

These lunches at the nursing home are organised as part of the children’s cafeteria concept, or kodomo shokudo, which was introduced to help with Japan’s child poverty rate.

According to Paris-based think tank Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the rate of child poverty in 2017 was at about 16.3 per cent – one in every six children – making it one of the highest across industrialised countries. 

Kodomo shokudo is a grassroots initiative typically operated by volunteers that provides free or low-cost meals to children. The gatherings are held at places like community centres, shops and temples.

The programmes differ from one kodomo shokudo to the next, with some offering children a place to study or play on top of the meals.

For Sompo Care, it sees bringing the young and the old together as a win-win solution for both generations – the residents have the pleasure of hosting guests, while the children are given the opportunity to meet those the age of their grandparents.

So far over 10,000 children have been invited to kodomo shokudo events hosted by the firm at their elderly homes nationwide.