Deliveroo expands Meals-On-Wheels initiative with TOUCH

Singapore

NG Kim Seng, 62, was one of the beneficiaries to receive a meal from TOUCH's Meals-On-Wheels (MOW) initiative earlier this month.

It was delivered by a rider who was part of Deliveroo's 6,000-strong network. In all, more than 1,000 meals were delivered to 155 beneficiaries in Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio and Jurong from Dec 16 to Jan 16.

The MOW initiative is part of an expansion of Deliveroo's partnership with TOUCH Community Services to help the elderly in need.

Under the MOW initiative, Deliveroo customers could buy a meal for elderly clients by selecting a S$5 meal option from the menus of three participating restaurants - CC Premium Bento, Rong Kee Roasted Delights and Ming Kitchen Seafood - under Chang Cheng Group on Deliveroo.

Siddharth Shanker, general manager of Deliveroo Singapore, said: "The partnership with TOUCH was first launched in December 2018 and ran for six months, during which time Deliveroo riders picked up meals from TOUCH's various collection points and delivered them to those on the charity's beneficiary list in Toh Guan or Jurong West, which were chosen because they are most in need of volunteers on a daily basis.

"The success from our first phase in 2018 propelled us to expand our partnership in 2019, bringing on board our restaurant partner and riders to contribute to the cause. This marked the first time Deliveroo customers were able to do good while ordering their meals, with just a click of a button."

He added that there were challenges faced during the period, as the riders are self-employed.

"We had to ensure that we had a steady pool of riders that we could tap into, to ensure that the meals went to the elderly as scheduled. Though, when we sent out this initiative to our riders, we were glad to see that the responses were very positive and they were supportive of this cause."

Sam Ngeow, manager of TOUCH Home Care, said: "Many of our elderly are homebound and are unable to prepare their own meals.

"Having volunteers, including Deliveroo riders, sending tasty and comforting local food to them is a wonderful treat. We are glad to be able to tap Deliveroo's expertise in the food delivery service for the 'Donate A Meal' project. Throughout the campaign, we worked closely with Deliveroo to ensure the dietary requirements of beneficiaries were met. Deliveroo was also involved in shortlisting and briefing riders to ensure a smooth pick-up and delivery process."

Mr Ng, who lives in Boon Lay, said that it made his day to have a driver stop by to deliver food and have a chat.