180 more coffee shops to offer budget meals by end-July and accept CDC vouchers

SINGAPORE - Around 180 coffee shops will start offering budget meals by end-July under a scheme to provide Singaporeans with more affordable food options, more than doubling the pool of participating coffee shops to 330.

These newest participants of the budget meal scheme will also start accepting CDC vouchers progressively from July 1, said the Ministry of National Development and Housing Board.

The 180 coffee shops are run by nine private chain operators: Badaling, Broadway, De Tian, Chang Cheng, FoodFare Kopitiam, Kimly, Kim San Leng, Koufu and Select. They comprise 60 rental HDB coffee shops that will voluntarily offer budget meals ahead of their lease renewal, as well as 120 privately owned coffee shops.

This means almost a third of privately owned coffee shops will offer budget meals by end-July 2024.

Out of every 10 coffee shops that are within the HDB heartland, more than four will be offering budget meals or drinks, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann on July 1.

At present, there are about 150 rental HDB coffee shops islandwide offering more than 1,000 budget meals and drinks.

Budget meals are defined as lunch or dinner options that are typically priced at $3.50 and below, and drinks priced at $1.20 and below. Under the initiative, all rental HDB coffee shops that renewed their tenancies from May 2023 have been required to offer at least four budget meals and two budget drink options.

There are a total of 776 HDB coffee shops in Singapore, of which 374 are rented out by HDB and 402 are privately owned. HDB is on track to have all 374 rental HDB coffee shops offer budget meals by 2026, said the agencies.

On July 1, Ms Sim, along with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling, pasted community budget meal decals on four stalls at the Chang Cheng Mee Wah coffee shop at Block 802 Tampines Avenue 4. Stalls sporting these red and blue decals accept CDC vouchers as payment.

Issues with budget meals are being addressed

Some criticism has been levied against the budget meal scheme since it was rolled out in May 2023. Examples include how some meals have smaller portions or are not nutritionally balanced, skewing towards being carbohydrate-heavy, with little to no meat.

Responding to questions on these issues, Ms Sim said: “When we have feedback concerning the portion of the food available, and the nutritional balance, we work with operators and stallholders... so far they have been quite responsive to feedback and quite cooperative, and adjustments have been able to be made relatively quickly.”

She added that HDB officers visit participating stalls to observe the quality of the meals being offered, and there is extensive discussion with stallholders and operators prior to bringing them into the fold as part of the budget meal scheme.

A mechanism for public feedback is also being explored, she said.

A Straits Times report in June highlighted how some hawkers find it difficult to make a profit from such budget meals, and have resorted to charging more for other dishes in order to offset the cost of these cheaper meals.

Ms Sim said: “Since the start we have been very mindful of the need to balance the public’s need for affordable meals near their homes, as well as business sustainability – it has to make sense to the business owners as well.

“This is why when HDB onboards coffee shops that offer budget meals, there is a 5 per cent rebate that is given to the operator, which is then shared with the stallholders who participate in the scheme.”

Coffee shop operator Chang Cheng, which is now part of the scheme, said 19 of its 70 stalls are already on board. It plans to progressively bring its remaining stalls across Singapore into the scheme by the end of 2024, said Chang Cheng group general manager Soh Koon Ghee.

The group owns 32 coffee shops in which it rents out stalls to tenants, as well as individual stalls in coffee shops under the brands including Rong Kee Roasted Delights, Ming Kitchen Seafood and Chang Cheng Mixed Vegetables Rice.

Mr Soh said that despite the rising cost of ingredients, the group manages to save costs and practise economies of scale by making bulk purchases via its procurement facility in Johor Bahru, as well as by preparing meals in central kitchens. These cost savings are then passed on to customers, he added.

“We will also encourage all the tenants in our coffee shops to join the scheme,” Mr Soh said.

Some of the budget meal options offered at the Chang Cheng Mee Wah coffee shop at Block 802 Tampines Avenue 4. ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY

All participating stalls will progressively be listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere portal – a collaboration between HDB and the Government Technology Agency – that allows users to search for the nearest coffee shop budget meal options. Since its launch in May 2023, the portal has recorded more than 400,000 unique visitors.

67% of Singaporean households have claimed CDC vouchers

Ms Low also gave an update on the CDC voucher scheme, saying that more than 883,000 families, or 67 per cent of the total number of Singaporean households, have claimed their vouchers from the latest tranche on June 25.

Since June 25, every Singaporean household has been able to claim $300 in CDC vouchers for spending at participating hawkers and heartland merchants, and supermarkets. Along with the $500 given out in January, this means that each Singaporean household will get a total of $800 in 2024.

Ms Low said that $558 million of CDC vouchers has been spent so far in 2024.

“We encourage Singaporeans to use their CDC vouchers, which are valid till Dec 31, 2024,” she said.

“Expanding the number of coffee shops that offer budget meal options, as well as those that accept CDC vouchers, will certainly boost, and widen the choices of affordable food options for Singaporeans,” Ms Low added.