Paper short abstract:

“Kodomo Shokudo” is a children’s cafeteria or children’s dining room offering free food to the children of poor families. Its numbers have increased rapidly to 6014 in 2021. This study aims to clarify how “Kodomo Shokudo” contribute to community-based revitalization in non-metropolitan regions.

Paper long abstract:

One in six children in Japan lives below the poverty line as of 2020, which is the worst level among developed countries. The cause behind this is poverty in families raising children, especially in single-parent families dominated by mother-child households, and a poverty rate that remains high in Japan at 54%. In addition, the number of elementary and junior high school students receiving educational assistance has increased slightly since the late 1990s.

“Kodomo Shokudo” is a children’s cafeteria or children’s dining room offering free food to the children of poor families. It is said to have started around 2012 in Tokyo, and its numbers have increased and spread rapidly to 6014 in 2021. “Kodomo Shokudo” is a private-sector initiative in which local volunteers and others participate in the operation and provide free and cheap meals to poor families and children eating alone. Recently, “Kodomo Shokudo” have come to be operated by various entities. For example, some “Kodomo Shokudo” were opened in vacant stores in the shopping street and are expected to help in the revitalization of that district. People who run ”Kodomo Shokudo” in the area interact with each other, reduce the number of children who eat alone, and expect it to be a place for exchanges among generations of local residents. The various activities of the “Kodomo Shokudo” are not only to alleviate poverty but also to develop communal child-rearing, and through that achieve the revitalization of the local community.

We have already clarified that there are many“Kodomo Shokudo” mainly operated by local volunteers and restaurant managers in the Tokyo. This study aims to clarify how “Kodomo Shokudo” contribute to community-based revitalization in non-metropolitan regions. In the Chugoku region, there are many “Kodomo Shokudo” in Tottori and Yamaguchi prefectures, while there are few “Kodomo Shokudo” in Okayama and Shimane prefectures. Therefore, in this study, we try to clarify why such a difference occurred in Chugoku region. As a result of the interview survey, it was clarified that many “Kodomo Shokudo” also conduct activities that combine learning support activities and creating places for children.