The Food Bank Singapore: Every Food Item at just $1 at The Food Pantry

The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG) has announced The Food Pantry, which will sell every food item at just $1. The food items are consumable but have less than two months of shelf life, rendering them unacceptable to most of FBSG’s beneficiaries.

Many beneficiaries that FBSG works with have a rule on the minimum shelf life for food, with most requiring a minimum of two months before expiry. This leaves the food bank with a lot of miscellaneous food with less than two months of shelf life that it is sometimes unable to re-distribute. Instead of wasting such food, FBSG decided to sell it to raise awareness. Everything at The Food Pantry will go for $1 regardless of product and brand. The idea is to encourage consumption of these food items.

“We are on a mission to increase the awareness that food, even those close to their use by dates are perfect for consumption. If more food closer to the expiry date can be consumed, then there will be less wastage. The same goes for ugly fruits and vegetables,” said Nichol Ng, Chief Food Officer of FBSG.

The food to be sold will come from all sources of donations. Some items may be very slightly damaged but are still of excellent quality.

“This does not reverse our position that food is meant to be distributed for free to those in need. The Food Pantry is not a fund-raiser but just another platform for us to advocate food wastage reduction. We see a big potential to start a new movement to encourage people to change their consumption behaviour,” she added.

For instance, those organising a party next week can buy 10 tins of tuna which are close to expiry date to make sandwiches. There’s no need to get cans with longer shelf life.

Emergency Food Ration Programme

The Food Pantry can also serve as an emergency food ration programme for FBSG’s beneficiaries.

“Some organisations that we work with operate five days a week but when someone needs food, they usually need it urgently. Since The Food Pantry is open daily, it is another avenue for the underprivileged to gain access to the food for free,” said Ng, who pointed out that details of this programme are still being worked out.

Donation Made Easy

Additionally, the pantry will double up as another drop off point for potential donors, making donations and pick up more convenient. Located at 100A Sims Avenue, The Food Pantry will be opened daily from April 25 from 10am to 10pm daily.

FBSG is proud honoured once again to be the official Charity of Food and Hotel Asia (FHA ). Find out more about FBSG and The Food Pantry at FHA. Visit the booth at Singapore Expo Hall 8, beside Steward’s Solutions and Killiney’s (8Q4-1).