Food rescue initiative by FairPrice Group to expand to 60 distribution points
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Beneficiaries receiving vegetables and fruits under the Neighbourhood Food Share programme at its Boon Lay distribution point on July 23.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE – More vegetables and fruits will be shared with lower-income families and the elderly as FairPrice Group plans to expand its food rescue initiative to 60 distribution points by end-2025.
The Neighbourhood Food Share (NFS) programme gives away vegetables and fruits that cannot be sold in supermarkets due to defects in their appearance but are not spoilt.
It started in September 2023 with 15 distribution points and now has 51 providing more than two tonnes of fruits and vegetables a month. Since its launch, it has distributed close to 30 tonnes of fresh produce and serves more than 25,000 beneficiaries a year.
Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee said on July 23 that initiatives like NFS are important because resources in Singapore are scarce.
These programmes can run only because of the unspoken social compact in Singapore, where everyone is prepared to work together, he said at an event in Boon Lay to announce the expansion of NFS.
For NFS, FairPrice Group leverages its networks and supermarkets to provide good produce, while on-the-ground groups work to publicise the events to those in need, and volunteers collect items and set up the distribution points, said Mr Lee, who is also Minister for Education.
“We think about ways to work together to benefit society and people, and many of us are prepared to step forward and volunteer,” he added.
Other groups in Singapore that work towards reducing food wastage include Food from the Heart and The Food Bank Singapore, both of which collect unsold or excess food to be distributed to the public.
FairPrice Group, which turns 52 in 2025, works with the People’s Association and on-the-ground groups like social service agencies to connect disadvantaged residents or lower-income families with distribution events. They conduct outreach to ensure these families know when free produce is being given out nearby.
In 2023, the National Environment Agency found that Singapore disposed of more than 755,000 tonnes of food waste, with a large portion ending up in landfills.
A portion of this waste is attributed to food nearing its expiry date or being deemed visually unappealing, even if it is still edible, the agency said.
Madam Alice Lim, 89, was among more than 200 seniors who collected fresh produce at the July 23 event in Boon Lay.
FairPrice Group has a distribution point near her home which gives out fruits and vegetables weekly, benefiting more than 1,400 families in Boon Lay.
Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee distributing unsold produce at the event in Boon Lay on July 23.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Madam Lim has lived in Boon Lay for 15 years. After her husband’s death in 2020, she found it hard to leave her flat and would only walk nearby in the estate.
“I am glad there is something like this near me. I don’t like wasting food, so at least these things are going to us and not a dustbin,” she said.
