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Cookies or chicken? These kids learn about money and nutrition in the supermarket
Local charity teams up with UOB to help kids from lower-income families learn financial skills like budgeting in fun ways
With a $50 budget, students have to put together a shopping list that includes carbohydrates, protein, fruits and vegetables.
PHOTO: THARM SOOK WAI
Rachel Chia, Brand Newsroom
Most children would leap at the chance to grab a sweet treat. Not 12-year-old Qadeeja.
Armed with a $50 budget, she carefully scanned the shelves at a Sheng Siong supermarket in Clementi, filling her basket with groceries for her family of seven.
Calculator in hand, Qadeeja tracked every dollar as she picked up eggs, carrots, tomatoes and bananas. Each choice was made with a balance of necessity and price.
When she reached the end of her shopping list, just $2.50 remained. It was left over from her $4 snack budget.
Qadeeja had to make a choice: Another packet of her favourite cookies and cream biscuits or a pack of chicken breast?
She didn’t hesitate. The chicken, which was on special offer, went into her basket.
This simple yet thoughtful decision stayed with Ms Ariel Soh, who was accompanying her on the shopping trip. Ms Soh, 27, is a UOB volunteer who works as a manager at the bank’s global markets division.
“(Qadeeja) told me there are seven people in her family, so an extra pack of chicken would help with meal prep.”
12-year-old Qadeeja (right) is accompanied by UOB volunteer Ariel Soh as she picks out groceries for her family of seven. PHOTO: THARM SOOK WAI
Qadeeja was one of the 13 primary school pupils who went on the shopping trip last November. It was part of the Fresh gRoceries for Every Student’s Home (Fresh) programme, organised by local charity Children’s Wishing Well and supported by UOB. (see box below)
Founded in 2002, Children’s Wishing Well supports children and youth from low-income families through educational programmes and financial assistance.
The Fresh programme, which runs four times a month, was first launched by Children’s Wishing Well in 2018.
How it works: The charity partners corporate organisations such as UOB to bring groups of 10 to 15 children from lower-income families on a trip to the supermarket and teaches them skills like budgeting and nutrition.
The primary school pupils are aged between seven and 12. Each of them is paired up with a corporate volunteer who guides them in preparing a shopping list based on a $50 budget.
The list would cover all food groups, including carbohydrates, protein, fruits and vegetables. From the budget, the children also get to set aside $4 for snacks – a small but exciting treat.
The volunteers would also teach them how to pick out the most value-for-money and nutritious items, which the kids get to bring home at the end of the shopping trip.
Based on her experiences with her two young nieces, Ms Soh expected Qadeeja to reach for a snack, like most other children would.
For her, moments like Qadeeja’s decision revealed the impact of the Fresh programme in helping to shape the way children from financially challenging backgrounds view money.
It teaches them to differentiate between needs and wants, she explains, which is a valuable life skill.
Qadeeja, who has attended five Fresh sessions so far, shares that she has learnt how to make trade-offs.
“Last time, I wouldn’t check the prices – my volunteer would check for me. (Now), I know sometimes I need to pick a cheaper item so I can afford something more expensive, like beef.”
She adds: “This is helpful for the future, (when) I’m earning (and spending) my own money.”
Shopping smart
Ms Soh has been a regular participant at UOB’s volunteering initiatives since she joined the bank four years ago.
Each UOB employee gets three days of volunteering leave per calendar year. On the internal portal, they can browse and sign up for a range of volunteering opportunities.
Among these, the Fresh programme is one of the most popular.
“Guiding young kids on how to manage their budget and shop for groceries on their own is always an interesting experience,” says Ms Soh, who has only managed to secure two sessions so far. “Slots (for Fresh) are always filled very quickly.”
Across both sessions, she has taught her assigned children a range of practical skills, such as checking the sugar content in Yakult and selecting milk with a longer expiry date.
She also makes it a point to encourage them to opt for house brands which tend to be cheaper, and make use of bulk deals to save on unit prices.
For nine-year-old Ka Ping, who attended the same Fresh session as Qadeeja last November, the math is the easy part.
The Primary 3 student regularly participates in the Mathematical Olympiads and has a knack for mental calculations. During Fresh shopping trips, he would tally his total bill in his head, down to the cent.
Ka Ping (right) says he learned how to select fresh produce like fruits and vegetables on Fresh gRoceries for Every Student’s Home (Fresh) shopping trips. PHOTO: THARM SOOK WAI
“I calculate everything, and if it’s more than $50, I just give up the things I need least,” he says cheerfully.
During the grocery trip, Ka Ping initially had his eye on candies. But when he realised it would push him over budget, he swiftly opted instead for two packs of potato chips – one for himself and one for his twin brother.
While math may come naturally to him, Ka Ping says the programme has helped him improve in other areas, especially in selecting fresh produce.
“I (now) know how to pick the best fruits and vegetables,” he shares proudly. “For tomatoes, I need to choose the reddest one and the one without bruises. For the oranges, if it’s yellow, it’s not good.”
Breaking the cycle
Children’s Wishing Well chief executive Joanna Tan describes Fresh gRoceries for Every Student’s Home (Fresh) as Singapore’s only structured food empowerment programme by a charity.
It’s designed to tackle issues with traditional grocery donation packs, she explains. Such donation packs typically comprise unhealthy canned food which may not meet beneficiaries’ needs. This leads to wastage.
Each year, Children’s Wishing Well organises more than 150 Fresh sessions, attended by over 600 children and youth beneficiaries. The $50 grocery budget per child is sponsored by corporate donors.
UOB is one of the largest donors to Children’s Wishing Well. Since 2022, the bank has supported 35 Fresh sessions, fielding 371 volunteers to benefit 407 children and families.
Mr Leonard Tan, senior vice-president and head of group corporate social responsibility at UOB, highlights that “financial literacy can play a crucial role in breaking the cycle of poverty for lower income families”.
He explains: “(For example), learning the importance of savings and spending on needs instead of wants, can help (these) families build their savings and reduce their vulnerability to unexpected expenses.”
UOB’s community support efforts extend beyond Singapore. The bank has a range of financial literacy programmes across the region, tailored to the needs of each market, says Mr Tan.
For example, in Thailand, the bank launched an online financial literacy programme, UOB Money 101: Teen Edition, in 2021.
Covering topics like money psychology, saving and investing, the programme aims to help lower secondary-level students make informed financial decisions and establish concrete plans to achieve financial goals. To date, it has reached close to 6,000 students from 48 schools nationwide.
UOB has supported 35 Fresh sessions since 2022, fielding 371 volunteers to benefit 407 children and families. PHOTO: THARM SOOK WAI
Staying healthy on a budget
Children’s Wishing Well’s Ms Tan says when Fresh was first launched in 2018, the children had little confidence in budgeting.
Many blew their $4 budget on unhealthy snacks, she shares.
But over time, those who have attended two or more Fresh sessions – like Qadeeja and Ka Ping – were able to manage their budget better, pick items from all food groups, and limit their spending on snacks, Ms Tan observes. “They are now able to independently shop for their families’ needs.”
The charity also launched a sister programme in 2023 to encourage physical activity. Known as SPorts and wEllness for Every chilD, or Speed, the programme provides beneficiaries with an $80 budget to shop for sportswear and shoes.
“A balanced diet is (just) one half of the equation,” Ms Tan explains. Speed is designed to complement Fresh, by ensuring that children stay healthy through participating in physical activities.
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