URUMQI, May 12-- Chinese restaurants are feeding the needy with a scheme that lets customers buy meal tokens for the disadvantaged.
The "Meals on the Wall" charity drive, which is especially concentrated in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, sees restauranteurs establish a bank of pre-paid tokens near their businesses. They can be picked up by whoever feels in need of them and cashed in for a meal in the restaurants.
Meals on the Wall has been pushed in Xinjiang by Yalkhun Osman, a retiree in regional capital Urumqi.
"More than 100 restaurants in Xinjiang have joined our scheme, and nationwide, the number has topped 200," said Osman. He believes about 45,000 coupons have been exchanged for meals across the country.
The project was inspired by "Coffee on the Wall," the coffee house equivalent which has got a lot of attention from Chinese netizens since being spotted in other countries.
Osman explained that the restaurants dip into their own pockets for some of the coupons, while charity groups and customers have also been paying for them.
"This is an easy type of charity that anyone can join in with," he said.
Bayinhanggai is a restaurant serving Mongolian food in Urumqi. In the past few months, it has served meals on the wall worth 6,000 yuan (921 U.S. dollars).
Located near three hospitals, the eatery gets a lot of customers who are facing expensive medical bills.
"I asked doctors and nurses to spread the news about Meals on the Wall at my restaurant, and gradually more people came," said Bayinhanggai owner Wang Qiyuan.
"Many people who took up the offer had been eating only baked flat bread for days. The scheme helped them to a better diet," Wang said.
Claimants of meal vouchers also include migrant workers and young vagrant musicians, he added.
However, there are concerns that stigma around accepting charity is keeping away some people that warrant it.
"Only one customer has accepted a free meal in the past month," said a member of staff with the Xinmingdong rice cake restaurant in Urumqi.
For Osman, the project is not just about feeding the needy though. "It's not about how much you spend or claim, but rather about encouraging more generosity in society," he said.
At Urumqi restaurant Xiahezhati, several migrant workers who used the vouchers came back to buy meals for others after they received their pay.
