Inside a canteen for seniors in downtown Shanghai, a worker brandishing a sponge inched closer to Maggie Xu, 29, as she was finishing her rice and garlic-and-oil-soaked broccoli. Ms. Xu ignored her.

上海市中心一家老年食堂里，29歲的瑪吉·徐馬上就要吃完她的米飯和蒜茸西蘭花了，清潔工手持海綿慢慢向她坐的地方擦過(guò)來(lái)。徐女士沒(méi)有理會(huì)她。


“If you come at 12 o’clock, the aunties will give you less food,” Ms. Xu said, speaking softly. After 1:30 p.m., they give away soup. They also start to hover — like the auntie with the sponge — hurrying laggards out the door.

“你如果12點(diǎn)下來(lái)，阿姨打菜會(huì)少，”徐女士輕聲說(shuō)道。下午1點(diǎn)30分后，她們會(huì)發(fā)放免費(fèi)的湯。她們也會(huì)像那名清潔工那樣，開(kāi)始逼近那些來(lái)得晚的人，讓他們快點(diǎn)離開(kāi)。

Ms. Xu is familiar with the rhythms of the Tongxinhui Community Canteen because she eats there every day to save money. She has a good job as an accountant at a foreign firm, but she can’t shake a creeping sense of unease about her future.

徐女士很熟悉同心薈社區(qū)食堂的節(jié)奏，因?yàn)闉榱耸″X，她每天都在這里吃飯。雖然她在一家外企有一份不錯(cuò)的會(huì)計(jì)工作，但她對(duì)自己的未來(lái)總有點(diǎn)無(wú)法擺脫的不安全感。

“Only when you save money will you feel safe,” she said.

“存錢才會(huì)感覺(jué)到安全感，”她說(shuō)。

In these tough economic times in China, many young people are jobless, but they aren’t the only anxious ones. A devastating crash in the value of real estate, where most household wealth is tied up, has heightened a feeling among young working professionals like Ms. Xu that their situation is precarious, too.

中國(guó)現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況不佳，許多年輕人找不到工作，但焦慮的不只是他們。房?jī)r(jià)的毀滅性暴跌已加劇了人們的不安全感，因?yàn)橹袊?guó)家庭的大多數(shù)財(cái)富與房地產(chǎn)掛鉤。就連像徐女士這樣的年輕職業(yè)人士也覺(jué)得自己的情況不穩(wěn)定。
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In Shanghai, some people are finding relief at subsidized community centers that once served mostly seniors but are now also drawing younger crowds. The food is affordable and plentiful. The plates on offer, sometimes as cheap as $1.40, are crammed with local specialties like shredded eel with hot oil, steamed pork ribs or red braised pork belly.

上海的一些人正在從有政府補(bǔ)貼的社區(qū)中心尋求救濟(jì)，這些中心以前主要為老年人服務(wù)，但現(xiàn)在也吸引了更年輕的人群。社區(qū)食堂的價(jià)格實(shí)惠，菜品豐富。有很多帶有地方特色的菜，便宜的只要十塊錢，如響油鱔絲、蒸排骨、紅燒肉。
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Similar to soup kitchens, the canteens are privately run but subsidized by China’s ruling com...st Party and cater to older residents who are too frail to cook or are homebound, offering discounted meals and delivery services.

與（西方為窮人免費(fèi)提供食物的）施食處類似，中國(guó)的社區(qū)食堂由私人經(jīng)營(yíng)。社區(qū)食堂為身體虛弱不能自己做飯或不能出門的老年居民提供打折餐和送餐服務(wù)。

At the canteen where Ms. Xu likes to eat, diners who are 70 or older are given a 15 percent discount. The canteen is part of a three-story party community center that opened in May.

在徐女士喜歡吃飯的那個(gè)食堂，70歲以上的用餐者享受15%的折扣。這個(gè)食堂位于去年5月開(kāi)業(yè)的一棟三層樓的社區(qū)黨群服務(wù)中心里。

As neighbors and workers from nearby shops and small offices pack into the canteen for lunch and dinner, collapsible dining tables and plastic chairs are quickly assembled, spilling out into the building entrance to accommodate grumbling bellies.

午餐和晚餐時(shí)段，食堂里擠滿了來(lái)吃飯的社區(qū)居民和在附近的商店和小型辦公室工作的人，快速組裝起來(lái)的折疊餐桌和塑料椅子一直擺到了樓的入口處。

During the lull between meals, older residents sit in the entrance, chatting and passing the time. A giant sickle-and-hammer ceiling light glows, reminding diners of the landlord.

在非用餐時(shí)段，老年居民們坐在里面聊天，打發(fā)時(shí)間。天花板上巨型鐮刀錘頭形狀的燈提醒著人們誰(shuí)是房子的主人。

More recently, community canteens have emerged as part of a broader social welfare initiative to improve food services for a swiftly aging population.

而在近期，社區(qū)食堂是作為一個(gè)更廣泛的社會(huì)福利項(xiàng)目的一部分出現(xiàn)的，目的是為迅速老齡化的人口改進(jìn)膳食服務(wù)。

There are 6,000 local groups running community canteens around the country, according to the official xinhua news service. In Shanghai, where nearly one-fifth of the population is 65 or older, there are more than 305 community canteens. Many of them get tax breaks and low or free rent.

據(jù)官方的新華社報(bào)道，有6000個(gè)地方組織在全國(guó)各地經(jīng)營(yíng)社區(qū)食堂。上海有近20%的人口年齡在65歲以上，那里的社區(qū)食堂已超過(guò)305個(gè)。其中許多得到稅收減免、低租金或免租金的補(bǔ)貼。

But the canteens have become an important fixture for Shanghai’s younger working population, too. The portions are often so generous that they can be stretched out over several meals, and diners can often be seen packing away dishes they haven’t finished.

但這些社區(qū)食堂也已成為上海年輕打工族常去的一個(gè)重要場(chǎng)所。食堂給的菜量往往很大，可以分幾頓吃，經(jīng)常能看到食客們把沒(méi)吃完的菜打包帶走。

The cost-saving impetus stems from a reluctance to spend that has become so common among Chinese people that it is contributing to the country’s economic problems and prompting top officials to talk with a sense of urgency about promoting confidence.

省錢的動(dòng)力源于中國(guó)老百姓不愿花錢，這個(gè)相當(dāng)普遍的問(wèn)題已成為中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)疲軟的原因之一。

If there is one thing that Deng Chunlong, 31, is missing right now, it’s confidence. Mr. Deng’s personal-training business has suffered. Some clients have stopped going to his studio altogether. Others sign up for a third of the classes they used to, he said.

如果說(shuō)31歲的鄧春龍現(xiàn)在缺少什么的話，那就是信心了。鄧先生的私人健身教練業(yè)務(wù)已受到影響。一些客戶已不再來(lái)他的工作室了。他說(shuō)，其他人報(bào)名參加的課程數(shù)量只有以前的三分之一。

Mr. Deng, who is tall with unruly hair, has been eating cheaper food at the community canteen in Jing’an, a district of Shanghai, to reduce his spending. He recently stopped renting an apartment and sleeps in his Pilates studio.

鄧先生身材高大，頭發(fā)有點(diǎn)蓬亂，他一直在上海靜安區(qū)的社區(qū)食堂吃便宜飯，以節(jié)省開(kāi)支。他最近停止了續(xù)租公寓，改為在自己的普拉提工作室睡覺(jué)。

“I feel that business is not as easy as before,” he said between bites of cauliflower and pork. “It feels like people are not willing to spend as much.”

“感覺(jué)生意沒(méi)有以前那么好做了，”他一邊吃著肉片炒花椰菜，一邊說(shuō)?！案杏X(jué)消費(fèi)者沒(méi)有那么多錢，他們?cè)敢庠谏厦嬷Ц兜腻X沒(méi)有以前那么多了。”

When Mr. Deng discovered the canteen a year ago, it had mostly older customers, he said, but the clientele has since expanded. “There are many young people now,” he said.

鄧先生說(shuō)，他一年前發(fā)現(xiàn)這家食堂時(shí)，里面的顧客大多是老年人，但顧客群體后來(lái)擴(kuò)大了?！艾F(xiàn)在感覺(jué)年輕人很多，”他說(shuō)。

In some neighborhoods, the young stand alongside older people, forming lines that sometimes stretch onto the street. The customers find the community canteens listed on restaurant apps and on social media platforms, where people also share tips about which dishes are the tastiest and the cheapest.

在一些社區(qū)食堂里，年輕人和老年人一起排隊(duì)，長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的隊(duì)伍有時(shí)一直延伸到街上。顧客在找飯館手機(jī)應(yīng)用和社交媒體平臺(tái)上能找到社區(qū)食堂，還有人在這些平臺(tái)上分享秘訣：哪道菜最好吃，哪道菜最便宜。

“Young people who are not very wealthy for the time being must visit Shanghai community canteens,” one person wrote on xiaohongshu, an app similar to Instagram. Another person described the canteens as a “happy home for the poor.”

“暫時(shí)不太富裕的年輕人一定要去上海社區(qū)食堂，”一名用戶在（類似于Instagram的應(yīng)用程序）小紅書(shū)上寫(xiě)道。另一名用戶把社區(qū)食堂描述為“窮人的幸福之家”。

It was by scrolling on Dianping, a Chinese food app, that Charles Liang, 32, discovered Tianping Community Canteen in the upscale Shanghai neighborhood of Xuhui.

現(xiàn)年32歲的查爾斯·梁（音）在瀏覽中國(guó)美食應(yīng)用大眾點(diǎn)評(píng)時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)了位于上海高檔社區(qū)徐匯區(qū)的天平街道社區(qū)食堂。

From the outside, the canteen looks more like a modern restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a red brick facade. Inside, the plastic blue boxes overflowing with colorful and dirtied plastic plates give the place more of a cafeteria vibe.

這個(gè)食堂從外面看更像是一家現(xiàn)代化餐廳，有落地窗和紅磚外墻。食堂里面，裝滿了食客用過(guò)的各種顏色塑料盤子的藍(lán)色塑料箱使其更像是自助餐廳。

“I tend to save money,” said Mr. Liang, an independent graphic and clothing designer who said finding work had become harder. A two-month Covid lockdown across Shanghai in 2022 also weighed on his outlook, he said, making him more ambivalent about his future and cautious about his finances.

“我傾向于存錢，”梁先生說(shuō)，他是從事平面和服裝設(shè)計(jì)的獨(dú)立工作者，他說(shuō)找工作已變得越來(lái)越難。他說(shuō)，那件事也加重了他對(duì)前景的悲觀看法，讓他對(duì)自己的未來(lái)有更多的矛盾情緒，對(duì)自己的財(cái)務(wù)狀況更加謹(jǐn)慎。

Mr. Liang said he ate regularly at the canteen, which opened in 2020. On this particular evening, when he arrived for dinner, every table was full. One man in a three-piece suit sat down with a tray filled with dishes and began to partition food into plastic takeout containers. Nearly everyone ate quickly and left.

梁先生說(shuō)，他經(jīng)常在這個(gè)食堂吃飯，食堂是2020年開(kāi)業(yè)的。具體到他來(lái)吃飯的那個(gè)晚上，他到食堂時(shí)，每張桌子都已坐滿人。一名身穿三件套西裝的男子端著一個(gè)裝滿菜盤的托盤坐下來(lái)后，開(kāi)始將食物分裝到塑料容器中帶走。幾乎所有人都吃得很快，然后很快離開(kāi)。

As Mr. Liang was finishing his meal, the dinner crowd began to thin out and some of the canteen’s servers and chefs sat down to eat. One of the servers, Li Cuiping, 61, a migrant worker from the central Chinese province of Henan, said she had been serving people in the canteen for half a year and had noticed more young people in recent months. “Everyone is welcome,” she said.

梁先生快吃完時(shí)，吃飯的人已經(jīng)不多了，食堂的一些服務(wù)員和廚師也開(kāi)始坐下來(lái)吃飯。其中一名服務(wù)員叫李翠萍（音），現(xiàn)年61歲，是來(lái)自中國(guó)中部河南省的農(nóng)民工。她說(shuō)，她已在食堂工作了半年，最近幾個(gè)月注意到來(lái)吃飯的年輕人越來(lái)越多?！叭巳硕?xì)g迎，”她說(shuō)。
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On a recent Wednesday at another canteen, near Jiangsu Road in the Changning district, a worker known as Fatty Yao was busy clearing more than a dozen empty blue and white dishes left by a group of young office workers. The canteen was serving more young people like that group, he said.

最近的一個(gè)周三，在長(zhǎng)寧區(qū)江蘇路附近的另一個(gè)社區(qū)食堂里，一名外號(hào)“胖姚子”的工人正在忙著收拾一群年輕上班族留下來(lái)的十幾個(gè)藍(lán)白相間的空盤子。他說(shuō)，這個(gè)食堂正在為更多像這群剛走的人那樣的年輕人服務(wù)。

The dishes had been left by Qiu Long, 24, and five of his colleagues who worked together at a lighting design company about a 10-minute walk down the road. Mr. Long and his colleagues said they had started eating at the canteen only a week ago.

那些盤子是24歲的龍邱和他的五名同事留在那里的，他們?cè)谝患艺彰髟O(shè)計(jì)公司工作，公司距離食堂走路大約10分鐘。龍先生和他的同事說(shuō)，他們一周前才開(kāi)始在食堂吃飯。

They kept returning, though, because it was cheaper and offered more variety than other eateries nearby, many of which Mr. Long said tended to go out of business after a few months.

但他們已經(jīng)成了回頭客，因?yàn)槭程帽雀浇钠渌宛^更便宜，菜品也更多。許多小餐館常常在開(kāi)張幾個(gè)月后就倒閉了，龍先生說(shuō)。

“I think for working people,” Mr. Long said, “the canteen is a more affordable place to eat.”

“我覺(jué)得對(duì)于工作人而言，那種食堂就像在學(xué)校一樣會(huì)吃的比較實(shí)惠的，”龍先生說(shuō)。