ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to make proposals of improvinggratuitous meal systems for the elderly people. Thus, 267 elderlypeople, who used to eat their lunch at the restaurants that openonly for the elderly people free of charge, were asked how oftenthey visited the restaurants, what kinds of transportation they usedto get there, and how they liked the services at the restaurantssuch as both quantity and quality of meals as well as hygienicconditions of both restaurants and meals. The major reason ofvisiting the restaurants at lunch time was to meet the other folks,that is to say, to keep their social interactions, irrespective of theireconomic status. All the people, except a part of male respondentswho were using their bicycles, answered to get the restaurants onfoot. For the services at the restaurants, most visitors expressedtheir satisfaction with the meals and the hygienic conditions.