"We are working to let the public share more central government departments' resources to support the elderly," said Wang Yong, deputy director of the Yuetan subdistrict office of Xicheng district.

The subdistrict has been facing pressure to meet its aging residents' needs. People older than 60 account for 23 percent of the subdistrict's nearly 140,000 residents, the Beijing News reported on Sunday.

Wang said some senior citizens in Xicheng are too old to shop for ingredients or to cook. And ordering takeout from restaurants is too expensive for them to do every day. Consequently, many of the elderly eat few fresh vegetables.

Fortunately for these residents, about a dozen ministries are located in the area.

A 2009 Ministry of Civil Affairs circular encouraged government organs to share resources with neighborhoods. So the Yuetan subdistrict office asked nearby ministries to open their dining halls to elderly residents.

It is now in talks with a dozen more ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Railways, Wang said.

Head of SARFT's logistics and service bureau Liu Chengbin said: "The graying of the country's population has been creating a nationwide demand for more services for the elderly. I believe central government ministries should play a role."

However, he has voiced concerns about the cost of such programs as the dining hall services.

SARFT pays for food-delivery staffers, transfer trolleys, and water and electricity expenses, yet sells meals at low prices.

"Without government subsidies, I'm afraid the service won't last long," Liu said.

But some experts, such as Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences professor Lu Hanlong, opposed subsidies.

"Some government departments provide very cheap food in their dining halls as a form of employee welfare," Lu said.

"If local governments allocate funds for these departments, we cannot tell if the money is used to provide affordable food for the public or for their own staff members."

Lu suggested local governments support nongovernmental organizations that provide low-cost meals for senior citizens.

Experts estimate 350 million of the country's 1.45 billion people will be older than 65 by 2050, earlier reports quoted the China Population and Development Research Center's director-general Jiang Weiping as saying last May.

More families of empty-nesters will appear, increasing the demand for senior citizen services.