What can you get for 3 yuan (about $0.45) in Shanghai? In a city where the cost of living is high, it is not even enough to buy a cup of milk tea.
Yet outside the Zhangjiang campus of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, a young woman has been selling homemade meals for just 3 yuan each for several months now.
The woman behind the stall is Wenwen, a mother in her twenties from Anhui Province with a two-year-old child. She started the stall after seeing vendors resell cheap meals at inflated prices to families staying near the hospital. Having suffered a serious illness herself in her final year of high school, she understands the heavy burden that illness can place on a family — so she decided to set up a small food stall outside the hospital to help those in need.
She did not begin at the children's hospital. Around the May Day holiday in early May 2026, she first set up her stall near Longhua Hospital, charging 5 yuan to the general public and 3 yuan to patients' families. Someone then suggested she try the children's hospital, where the need was even greater — and she moved her stall there.
Wenwen’s food stall outside the hospital. Photo: Douyin account “球球”
Every weekday, Wenwen starts cooking early in the morning in her rented apartment and prepares around 40 to 50 nutritious meals. By 11:30 a.m. she has taken her food cart to the hospital, where she serves lunch to the families of sick children. After the lunch service, she still has her regular job to go to.
Wenwen starts cooking early every morning. Photo: Douyin account “球球”
Each meal costs at least 10 yuan (about $1.50) to make, but she charges just 3 yuan. At first she covered the losses from her own savings. As her story spread online, however, volunteers and donors from across China came forward, bringing ingredients such as milk, vegetables and meat. The income from her social media accounts also goes entirely towards buying ingredients.
People from across China voluntarily donate ingredients to Wenwen’s charity food stall. Photo: Douyin account “球球”
Many parents of sick children have thanked her with tears in their eyes. Whenever they collect a meal, Wenwen offers them a simple wish: “I hope your child gets better soon and you can go home soon.”
For families going through such difficult times, her meals offer not only practical help but also much-needed comfort.
A parent shares the happy news with Wenwen that their child is finally well enough to leave the hospital. Photo: Douyin account “球球”
But as her story has attracted attention, it has also drawn criticism. Some internet users have questioned whether the food meets hygiene standards, while others have wondered whether the initiative is simply a publicity stunt. They even compared it to a recent case in which a blogger was exposed for staging a video of giving money to left-behind children.
Wenwen responded that she had obtained a health certificate. Addressing the attention her story has received, she admitted that “online traffic can be a double-edged sword,” adding that actions matter more than intentions or what people say about them.
Wenwen with the sick children. Photo: Douyin account “球球”
Perhaps her motives do not need to be overanalyzed. What matters is that these 3-yuan meals are bringing real warmth to families struggling through their children's medical treatment. A simple hot meal may not solve their problems, but it can offer comfort, preserve their dignity and remind them that they are not alone.
May Wenwen's kindness continue to spread, and may all the children fighting illness recover soon and grow up healthy.
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