SINGAPORE - Hawkers who sign up to food delivery platforms will get one-time funding of $500 to offset delivery costs, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Saturday (April 18).

The fund is for cooked food stallholders operating at hawker centres managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators who engage food delivery platforms or third-party logistics to deliver food between April 7 and May 31.

Those who have signed up before April 7 can also receive the funding.

Said NEA: "This is to mitigate the cost for stallholders who wish to engage food delivery services but are concerned about the on-boarding fees, as well as to help defray other costs associated with food delivery."

Dining in at all food and beverage outlets, including hawker centres, has not been allowed since April 7 as part of measures to break the circuit of local transmissions of the coronavirus.

Only takeaways and delivery are allowed.

NEA has announced a series of initiatives to support cooked food stallholders, including a subsidy for table-cleaning and centralised dishwashing services.

Hawkers will also get full rental waivers from April to May, as well as a 50 per cent rental waiver in March and June, as announced in this year's Budget.

Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said: "Many hawkers are still not on food delivery services and hence cannot benefit from this segment of the market which has significantly increased during this circuit breaker period and is likely to further increase over time.

"By encouraging hawkers to provide food delivery service... we hope that members of the public can continue to enjoy food from their favourite hawker stalls during this challenging period."

To receive the funding, stallholders can submit documentation of their agreement with the delivery platform, along with proof of food delivery orders made between April 7 and May 31 to nea_hpg@nea.gov.sg. Upon verification, $500 will be credited to the stallholder's bank account.