Companies band together to supply meals to vulnerable groups

THE free bento meal that 81-year-old Madam Ng has been tucking into daily since mid-April comes courtesy of a web of connections. In this network are those who fund the meal programme, the food establishments that serve up the rice or noodles with meat and greens, and the agencies who know how best to reach out to the aged and vulnerable hit by the lockdown triggered by the viral pandemic.

Madam Ng, a beneficiary of Man Fut Tong Welfare Society who lives on her own in Hougang Street 11, used to cook her own meals or buy her own food, but with the lockdown and the elderly being advised against venturing outdoors, shopping for groceries to do her own cooking or going out to buy food was no longer an option.

In stepped the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), a not-for-profit organisation, which galvanised its members under the Company of Good (COG) banner into action in late February.

Quek Shiyun, who heads COG, said that because of the "circuit-breaker" measures, some working adults have lost their jobs, and the elderly who live alone and low-income families cannot afford food delivery; F&B businesses, on their part, have suffered plunges in their revenue.

COG launched a programme called "Eat for Good". Together with its members Maybank Singapore, Samsui Supplies & Services and Tripadvisor, it roped in The Food Bank Singapore's "Feed the City" project.

Eat for Good x Feed the City came into being in the middle of this month to support those who are struggling to put food on the table, and to open up ways for the public and corporations to give back.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 12.30 pm

ESG Insights

An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues.

Sign Up

The programme, now up and running, now distributes a total of 1,000 meals a day to beneficiaries such as All Saints Home, Covenant Family Service Centre and Man Fut Tong Welfare Society.

Ms Quek said that with food preparation and distribution to persons in need being disrupted, businesses in the COG community - each doing what it could - realised they had to collaborate, leaning on the strengths and resources of each to pull off this drive to supply the meals adequately and sustainably.

The Food Bank Singapore co-founder Nichol Ng said that its Feed the City drive was already started up, "so it was a natural progression for us to come on board this bigger initiative and further expand our reach".

Ms Ng said demand for these meals surpassed supply, and with potential corporate donors tightening their budgets, donations were being spread thin across many non-governmental organisations.

She noted that there were similar food-driven initiatives - Meals-on -Wheels was one - and questions were being asked about the need for so many. However, it was noted that these other organisations typically served lunch to vulnerable groups; hence the need to step up to fill the gap for breakfast and dinner.

Ms Quek said of the "many helping hands approach" in Eat for Good x Feed the City: "The collaboration among the various companies arose naturally, as each of them took on a role they were well-positioned to deliver on."

Maybank provided the funds; Soup Restaurant Group (the parent firm of Samsui Supplies) and other F&B businesses welcomed the food orders as these generated revenue for them, while providing them a chance to give back by participating in the programme.

Food Bank Singapore, on its part, stepped up with its extensive understanding of the gaps in the needs of the community and its communications and logistics capabilities to reach individuals who needed the help; Tripadvisor leveraged its #LoveYourLocalSG campaign to promote the cause to its community through its platform.

Maybank got the ball rolling by first pledging to underwrite the cost of 1,000 meals. These meals were prepared by Samsui Supplies, which roped other F&B clients to participate.

The bank has an ongoing fundraiser to which its employees and members of the public are encouraged to donate via giving.sg.portal.

Donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the bank for up to a sum of S$50,000.

Areas of need surfacing

Sharon Eng, head of corporate responsibility and sustainability in Maybank Singapore, said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened social inequalities and there are many areas of need surfacing from the ground.

"In this volatile situation, a key challenge is to quickly identify the most urgent needs and gaps to fill, partners who are best able to implement the initiatives, and decide which causes to support and how to be part of the solution...

"Vulnerable groups in our community are particularly affected, due to loss of jobs and restrictions on movement to reduce social contact. This has made it harder for social service agencies to extend the help needed. Many families find it hard to afford the rising costs of food, and food charities like Food Bank Singapore have also suffered a drop in both cash and in-kind donations, coupled with a drop in volunteer numbers during the circuit-breaker period.

"Hence, the Company of Good has been a key partner during this time, to direct resources to needs on the ground and connect with like-minded partners. The initiative is also aligned with our focus area of addressing livelihood issues such as food security for those in need."

Samsui Supplies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Soup Restaurant Group incorporated in 2013, has served an estimated 1.8 million meals to beneficiaries of nursing homes and non-profit organisations.

Now, it is part of the drive to dish out 1,000 meals to vulnerable groups.

Asked why it felt compelled to get on board the giving bandwagon, its director Ang Kian Peng said: "Samsui Supplies & Services Pte Ltd and our founders have always believed that giving back to the community is part of our social responsibility, especially as a home-grown company. The initiative is an extension of what Samsui has been doing all this while to provide healthy and nutritious meals to vulnerable groups in the community, especially the elderly who may have difficulties eating well."

Samsui Supplies has worked with NVPC on several other occasions.

Mr Ang said: "This period is difficult for many people and F&B companies have not been spared. Our group has also been affected.

"However, we felt the current situation may result in an increased need for our meals due to the circuit-breaker measures. We believe that whatever the situation, nutrition for our vulnerable groups should not be compromised.

"Moreover, we already have the necessary expertise in this area, having close to 30 years of experience in F&B, and our humanity to lend a helping hand should be made more apparent during these times."

The economic and social impact from this crisis will last well beyond the health pandemic. Maybank Singapore's Ms Eng said companies should look at how to continue supporting the various communities as the situation evolves.

"This is important as we are all part of a bigger community and we need to stand united and support each other during this difficult time. For example, by supporting this initiative, we are able to not only provide food security for those in need, but also to support the local F&B industry through this challenging period."

NVPC chief executive Melissa Kwee agreed, saying: "It's been said 'Never waste a good crisis'.

"Crisis brings out the best and worst behaviour in us all and it is when we know our true friends. Many Companies of Good, big and small, have stepped up their CSR (corporate social responsibility) efforts tremendously despite Covid-19... During challenging times, companies can work together and punch above their weight by pooling resources for initiatives to meet immediate needs and build goodwill for future collaboration.

"The Eat for Good initiative by NVPC's Company of Good is one example of that."

Tripadvisor, a partner in this collaboration, is supporting the Eat for Good x Feed the City on its own platform, after having approached NVPC to explore ways it could help.

Jane Lim, its vice-president of business operations and strategy for the Asia Pacific, said: "As the world's largest travel guidance company, Tripadvisor champions hotels, restaurants, attractions, stores and experience providers. This means advocating not only travel but also domestic support of local businesses, which is ever more important in times of crisis.

"Our #LoveYourLocalSG campaign is about supporting Singapore businesses hit by Covid-19. With everyone asked to stay indoors, we want to showcase the take-away or delivery options that are available to consumers on our platform, so that restaurants can continue to serve their customers.

"For those unable to provide a delivery service, we've enabled customers to support their favourite restaurants during this time, such as through gift-card purchases. A gift card filter is also available, to help consumers narrow down restaurants offering gift cards.

"In addition to supporting Eat for Good on our #LoveYourLocal microsite and in all our media and marketing collaterals, we have plans to tweak our microsite design and promote this initiative in a much bigger way."

Initiative to get bigger

Ms Quek said that COG aims to increase the scale of the initiative, which means more organisations will be invited to get on board and play a part with the drive to get meals out to the needy. "We always believe that profit and doing good do not have to be at odds; they can be mutually beneficial," she added.

Ms Ng from The Food Bank Singapore agreed, saying: "As business owners, we are also feeling the heat now. But compared to those who cannot even fathom where their next meal is going to come from, we are already much luckier. We do not know how long this pandemic will take to blow over, but for sure our feeding will continue."

Madam Ng, the octogenarian from Hougang, said she is deeply grateful to the volunteers and caterers, and that the food sent is always "very nice".