Food For Good: 10 Ways Food Is Uniting Singaporeans
And the establishments with social causes that any foodie can get behind
Photo: #HomeForAll Campaign
#HomeForAll Campaign
While the Circuit Breaker might technically be over with Phase 2 kicking in this Friday, businesses and individuals across Singapore have experienced a significant loss of income over the past 2 months as a result of the restrictions. From industry closures to social distancing, these measures have had a significant impact on everyone. But if there’s one thing that can help bring us all together, it’s food. Whether you want to support independent food and beverage outlets by ordering direct or you want to donate a meal to someone in need, here’s a look at just a few of the ways you can support fellow Singaporeans through food.
Singapore Restaurant Rescue
Founded by Charlotte Wilkinson and Perry Young, Singapore Restaurant Rescue is a Facebook group designed to help independent restaurants that use independent delivery services find customers and avoid paying the hefty fees many of the leading food delivery platforms charge. Restaurants are encouraged to list their details, including how to order from them, their menu, independent delivery options and opening hours. From there, the business is tagged so people can search for the type of cuisine they are after and find a range of eateries to order from.
Gift A Meal With Fave
As the name suggests, Gift A Meal With Fave is a charity campaign that lets you donate meal vouchers to those who have been hit hard by the pandemic. Simply choose a meal from the #GiftAMeal collection of participating eateries then let the platform match your donation to meal requests from those in need. Both parties can then share anonymous notes to encourage or thank one another.
FairPrice x WhyQ
FairPrice Group and food delivery start-up WhyQ have launched a new digital platform called Marketplace @ WhyQ, which offers island wide food delivery at zero commission to vendors. Instead, the platform will include a 6 per cent mark up on food prices “for technology and customer support costs” to be borne by customers. Delivery charges will also be covered by the customer and are calculated by distance.
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Adopt A Bento
Adopt A Bento is a collaboration between The Saturday Movement and The Peranakan restaurant. Each $5 Bento Box (usual retail price $15) and $2 Bubble Tea will provide those on the frontline, elderly living in one-room rental flats and former Sungei Road vendors with a healthy and delicious meal.
Pay It Forward With Sum Yi Tai
Popular Chinese restaurant Sum Yi Tai is currently donating one hot meal to The Food Bank Singapore for every $25 gift voucher purchased. For example, if you purchase a $100 restaurant voucher, Sum Yi Tai will donate four hot meals so you and someone in need can enjoy a full belly.
Riding For Charity
British expat Anthony Houlahan has teamed up with Foodpanda to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Foundation. Until dine-in restrictions are lifted, Houlahan is working weekends and evenings as a food delivery rider and donating all of his earnings to the charity. Foodpanda has agreed to provide a direct financial contribution while also actively promoting the campaign.
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#LoveYourLocalSG With Tripadvisor
#LoveYourLocalSG is the Singapore edition of TripAdvisor’s globally run movement, which hopes to extend a helping hand to local enterprises. Consumers can easily access deals, takeaways and deliveries in support of the 20,000 local travel-related businesses listed on the Singapore website. This initial phase of #LoveYourLocalSG focuses on providing a consolidated platform for F&B businesses, through which consumers can further help them with gift card purchases.
Eat For Good
In the first of several collaborative initiatives aimed at making goodness part of daily encounters and experience, Company of Good, a programme by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), which empowers businesses to give back to the community, has launched Eat for Good to help support those in need of a meal and local F&B businesses. In the first edition, Eat for Good X Feed the City brings together F&B businesses to offer pay-it-forward meals to vulnerable groups in the community. Whether you are an individual or representing an organisation, you are invited to buy these meals. Your contribution will go to the F&B business – and in return, they will prepare a meal for someone who needs it.
Straits Clan Community Kitchen
With support from The Lo & Behold Group, the Straits Clan Community Kitchen forged a partnership with the Collective of Migrant Efforts for the #HOMEFORALL campaign. Every donation towards the initiative will go towards providing 20,000 workers with food for 10 days. Straits Clan chefs Daniel Sia and Damian D’Silva lead the effort by committing to prepare 450 meals per day, 7 days a week for 34 days.
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Feed The City (Take-Away Edition)
The Food Bank Singapore is committed to providing food to vulnerable communities. Through Feed the City (Take-Away Edition), they also hope to give F&B retailers that have been badly hit by the circuit breaker restrictions a fighting chance of survival.
Simply purchase a pay-it-forward meal by way of donation and you’ll be supporting local F&B businesses as well as those in need.