SINGAPORE: He’s not contractually obliged to give out free meals, but Mr Joe Eng, who runs Pu Ti Su vegetarian stall at One Punggol Hawker Centre, would do so anyway if he sees someone in need.
The 58-year-old chef, who recently opened the stall with his wife, said they have taken this approach at previous stalls they operated at hawker centres and coffee shops.
“If it’s an elderly customer or someone who’s lower-income, I’d give them more beehoon if they ask for it,” he told CNA.
In the week since opening, a few customers have asked for bigger portions at no extra charge.
“Of course I can’t do it if everyone asks for free food on the 1st and 15th of every month," he said, referring to the lunar dates when many Buddhists observe vegetarian meals. "But depending on the situation, I could give them some extra food.”
His wife, who declined to be named, said some customers take advantage of their kindness and even encourage others to ask for more food without paying.
“We can tell who really needs it, so it depends on the situation. We just take it that we’re doing a good deed,” she said.
The issue of requiring hawkers to provide free meals came under scrutiny last week after it emerged that tenants at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre had signed contracts mandating the provision of 100 free meals over their three-year tenancy period.
The operator, Canopy Food Group, later said the programme had not begun and would not be enforced. The clause will be removed when tenancy contracts are renewed in September.
CNA visited seven hawker centres run by other social enterprise operators – FairPrice Group, Timbre+ Hawkers, Fei Siong Social Enterprise and JW 50 Hawker Heritage. Hawkers confirmed that their contracts do not require them to give out free food, though some, like Mr Eng, do so voluntarily.
However, all tenants are required to offer at least one budget meal, typically priced at S$3 to S$3.50.
FairPrice and Timbre+ declined to respond to questions about raising the cap on budget meals and how they enforced the requirement. Fei Siong also did not respond to CNA’s queries.
In 2024, then-Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said that social enterprise hawker centre operators must include plans to ensure affordable food options are available as part of their tender proposals.
"So far operators have committed that all stalls in their centres will provide at least one value meal option," he said, adding that the intent was not to drive prices down across the board but to offer a range of options.
Mr Eng said he would be open to supporting voluntary charity projects, such as occasionally providing free meals to a nearby nursing home. Other hawkers echoed similar sentiments, saying they give discounts, extra food and even entire meals away free when needed.
Mr Nicholas Ho, who runs Ming Chung White Lor Mee stall at Buangkok Hawker Centre, said he tells customers who do not have enough money to return and pay later.
This happens more frequently at his restaurant along Mort Road, which is located near some rental flats, the 31-year-old said. Many of these are regular customers and he understands their financial situation, Mr Ho added.
“Some customers, if they see other customers who cannot pay, sometimes they will also help to pay for them,” he said.
He pays about S$4,000 a month in rent and cleaning fees, and his budget meal option at Buangkok Hawker Centre is beehoon soup with vegetables and egg, priced at S$3.20. The meal is less popular with customers since his stall is known for lor mee, but other stalls in the hawker centre have seen high demand for their budget meals.
“I heard at some stalls they were selling a lot of the budget meals, so they couldn’t handle it, and they limited it to 10 per day. If they have to sell 50 plates, it would be difficult,” he said, adding that he only gets about two to three orders a week for his budget meal.
Some hawkers scale down portions for budget meals. At Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, a fish soup stall offered vegetable soup for S$3, while a Japanese stall serves a bowl of rice with egg, onions, sauce and green sprouts for S$3. “NO MEAT”, a sign specified.
A nasi lemak hawker at One Punggol described his S$3.50 budget meal as a “kid’s meal” and said he does not make a loss on it. He rarely encounters customers asking for free food at Punggol, where residents are generally younger and more affluent.
Elderly or lower-income customers are more common at his Whampoa stall, which is located in a hawker centre run by the National Environment Agency.
“We will just treat them to the food. If we see that they really need the food, we won’t take their money,” he said.
A hawker who only wanted to be known as Mr Ng, and who runs a fish soup stall at Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre, said stalls there were allowed to raise their budget meal prices when contracts were renewed last year.
He pays about S$4,900 a month in rent and cleaning fees, but has kept his dory fish soup beehoon at S$2.90. His other dishes range from S$5 to S$7 – fish is expensive, one of his assistants noted.
“If I raise prices, there are elderly customers or kids who won’t be able to afford it anymore. What’s the point of raising it if the budget meals are supposed to help them?”
Mr Jarek Tan, who manages operations for a thunder tea rice chain at Fernvale Hawker Centre, said their S$3.20 budget meal remains profitable, with one to two orders daily.
The business also gives out between 500 and 1,000 free meals each year. When their Woodleigh stall first opened, he recalled that workers at the hawker centre said they had no money and asked for leftovers.
“Our staff called us to ask what they should do. We said it was okay and to just give it to them for free,” he added. “(We should do it) out of kindness, to show more humanity.”
The 25-year-old said he would not take money from customers who say they cannot pay. At Fernvale, a regular wheelchair-bound customer pays S$4 instead of the usual S$5.90 for a bowl of thunder tea rice.
When asked about making free meals compulsory, Mr Tan said most hawkers would not support such a move.
“The cost of living now … everyone is struggling. If they want to do it, people will give willingly. But if you want to enforce it, nobody is going to agree.”
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The 58-year-old chef, who recently opened the stall with his wife, said they have taken this approach at previous stalls they operated at hawker centres and coffee shops.
“If it’s an elderly customer or someone who’s lower-income, I’d give them more beehoon if they ask for it,” he told CNA.
In the week since opening, a few customers have asked for bigger portions at no extra charge.
“Of course I can’t do it if everyone asks for free food on the 1st and 15th of every month," he said, referring to the lunar dates when many Buddhists observe vegetarian meals. "But depending on the situation, I could give them some extra food.”
His wife, who declined to be named, said some customers take advantage of their kindness and even encourage others to ask for more food without paying.
“We can tell who really needs it, so it depends on the situation. We just take it that we’re doing a good deed,” she said.
The issue of requiring hawkers to provide free meals came under scrutiny last week after it emerged that tenants at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre had signed contracts mandating the provision of 100 free meals over their three-year tenancy period.
The operator, Canopy Food Group, later said the programme had not begun and would not be enforced. The clause will be removed when tenancy contracts are renewed in September.
CNA visited seven hawker centres run by other social enterprise operators – FairPrice Group, Timbre+ Hawkers, Fei Siong Social Enterprise and JW 50 Hawker Heritage. Hawkers confirmed that their contracts do not require them to give out free food, though some, like Mr Eng, do so voluntarily.
However, all tenants are required to offer at least one budget meal, typically priced at S$3 to S$3.50.
FairPrice and Timbre+ declined to respond to questions about raising the cap on budget meals and how they enforced the requirement. Fei Siong also did not respond to CNA’s queries.
In 2024, then-Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said that social enterprise hawker centre operators must include plans to ensure affordable food options are available as part of their tender proposals.
"So far operators have committed that all stalls in their centres will provide at least one value meal option," he said, adding that the intent was not to drive prices down across the board but to offer a range of options.
Related:
VOLUNTARY CHARITY
Mr Eng said he would be open to supporting voluntary charity projects, such as occasionally providing free meals to a nearby nursing home. Other hawkers echoed similar sentiments, saying they give discounts, extra food and even entire meals away free when needed.
Mr Nicholas Ho, who runs Ming Chung White Lor Mee stall at Buangkok Hawker Centre, said he tells customers who do not have enough money to return and pay later.
This happens more frequently at his restaurant along Mort Road, which is located near some rental flats, the 31-year-old said. Many of these are regular customers and he understands their financial situation, Mr Ho added.
“Some customers, if they see other customers who cannot pay, sometimes they will also help to pay for them,” he said.
He pays about S$4,000 a month in rent and cleaning fees, and his budget meal option at Buangkok Hawker Centre is beehoon soup with vegetables and egg, priced at S$3.20. The meal is less popular with customers since his stall is known for lor mee, but other stalls in the hawker centre have seen high demand for their budget meals.
“I heard at some stalls they were selling a lot of the budget meals, so they couldn’t handle it, and they limited it to 10 per day. If they have to sell 50 plates, it would be difficult,” he said, adding that he only gets about two to three orders a week for his budget meal.
Some hawkers scale down portions for budget meals. At Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, a fish soup stall offered vegetable soup for S$3, while a Japanese stall serves a bowl of rice with egg, onions, sauce and green sprouts for S$3. “NO MEAT”, a sign specified.
A nasi lemak hawker at One Punggol described his S$3.50 budget meal as a “kid’s meal” and said he does not make a loss on it. He rarely encounters customers asking for free food at Punggol, where residents are generally younger and more affluent.
Elderly or lower-income customers are more common at his Whampoa stall, which is located in a hawker centre run by the National Environment Agency.
“We will just treat them to the food. If we see that they really need the food, we won’t take their money,” he said.
MANAGING COSTS, WHILE HELPING THE VULNERABLE
A hawker who only wanted to be known as Mr Ng, and who runs a fish soup stall at Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre, said stalls there were allowed to raise their budget meal prices when contracts were renewed last year.
He pays about S$4,900 a month in rent and cleaning fees, but has kept his dory fish soup beehoon at S$2.90. His other dishes range from S$5 to S$7 – fish is expensive, one of his assistants noted.
“If I raise prices, there are elderly customers or kids who won’t be able to afford it anymore. What’s the point of raising it if the budget meals are supposed to help them?”
Mr Jarek Tan, who manages operations for a thunder tea rice chain at Fernvale Hawker Centre, said their S$3.20 budget meal remains profitable, with one to two orders daily.
The business also gives out between 500 and 1,000 free meals each year. When their Woodleigh stall first opened, he recalled that workers at the hawker centre said they had no money and asked for leftovers.
“Our staff called us to ask what they should do. We said it was okay and to just give it to them for free,” he added. “(We should do it) out of kindness, to show more humanity.”
The 25-year-old said he would not take money from customers who say they cannot pay. At Fernvale, a regular wheelchair-bound customer pays S$4 instead of the usual S$5.90 for a bowl of thunder tea rice.
When asked about making free meals compulsory, Mr Tan said most hawkers would not support such a move.
“The cost of living now … everyone is struggling. If they want to do it, people will give willingly. But if you want to enforce it, nobody is going to agree.”
Related:
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