Forum: Let’s give HCI bento meals a chance to evolve

I have been following the reports on the bento meals served by SATS at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) with great interest (

SATS bentos for Hwa Chong criticised; school says photos online don’t reflect food’s actual standards

, Jan 7).

It is heartening to see the varied and robust debate on our social and mainstream media about the meals. However, I was concerned about the comparisons of the SATS meals to “prison food”.

I am all for our students getting tasty and nutritious meals. The students at HCI also deserve to get what they have paid for and requested.

But we must also recognise that SATS is a renowned caterer for Singapore Airlines and many of the airlines that call at Changi Airport, and other institutions here. It takes all feedback about its food and other services seriously, and makes changes where they’re due.

It’s early days yet for the bento meals at HCI, and expectations so far have not matched the reality on the ground.

Instead of launching brickbats right away, a better approach may have been to ask, “How can we make these meals better?” That would turn the keyboard warriors into responsible stakeholders who are united in the common goal of seeing our students have quick access to healthy, reasonably priced and well-cooked meals.

Let’s give the bento meals a chance to evolve and catch on as SATS works through the feedback. I am sure that the hybrid canteen experiment will work well and, given time, may even thrive within our institutions of higher learning.

Arulnathan John