More than just putting food on the table
Nutrition counts, and FairPrice is empowering children and families to live healthier lives
CARBOHYDRATES are essential to a balanced diet, but only 30 per cent of respondents got that right in the study titled A Full Plate: A look at the nutritional state of the nation.
The survey was conducted by FairPrice Group in the first quarter of 2024, with about 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 60.
Other findings include the fact that parents find it challenging to balance convenience and their children’s nutrition, with 71 per cent of them agreeing that taste is the deciding factor in what makes a good meal.
Therefore, on Oct 3, the company launched A Full Plate, Singapore’s largest food donation drive.
A FairPrice spokesperson said: “The aim is not just to put food, but nutritious and healthy food, on the tables of underprivileged individuals and families in Singapore.”
The retailer is working with 10 charity partners including Allkin Singapore and Touch Community Services on the project, which will support more than 600,000 beneficiaries.
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Jean Khong, general manager of FairPrice Foundation, said: “Many of the underprivileged that we serve through the foundation have shown a strong determination to provide their families and loved ones with a nutritious variety of food.”
She added that with A Full Plate, “we want to galvanise and rally Singaporeans to come together as one to support (those) in need, and in doing so ensure that no matter the background or circumstance, all in Singapore will have access to nutritious and well-balanced meals”.
The food donation drive has been extended to Nov 30 for members of the public to continue giving. All proceeds will go towards providing the beneficiaries with groceries and hot meals. FairPrice’s target is to raise S$1 million from the public, and it will match the same amount at the end of the drive.
Dr Vincent Ng, CEO of Allkin Singapore, said the social service agency recognises that “food plays a crucial role in bringing communities together”.
“Whether through sharing of food necessities or communal dining initiatives, we seek to open doors for individuals and families to have access to nutritious meals, easing their minds around food costs while strengthening food security.”
The donation drive “will go a long way in supporting Allkin’s efforts to bring people from all walks of life together”, he added.
On why giving back should be part of a company’s daily operations and not be treated as a pet project, Vipul Chawla, group CEO of FairPrice Group, highlighted that shared values between an organisation and its people, partners and customers are derived when philanthropic and community engagement efforts are aligned with business strategies. That is when a company can thrive in the environment in which it operates.
“This choice to tie in our social mission with how we conduct business is one that we will continue to make time and again, because it is core to why we exist, what we do, and how we serve our customers – but also because it is the reason we are where we are today,” he said.
The FairPrice spokesperson added that the group believes Singaporeans face a very different set of challenges today. “While health and wellness are a priority, the fact is that many Singaporeans have their plates full juggling work, family, and the hectic pace of life in Singapore.”
“As the nation’s largest retailer, we believe our role is to help Singaporeans along their nutrition journeys by making education and access more available, and that’s what our recent initiatives aim to do,” said Chawla.
Profit with purpose
That is also how other projects such as Start Strong, Stay Strong came about. Launched on Sep 26 this year, it is the Republic’s first preschool nutrition and sustainability education programme.
Spearheaded by FairPrice and FairPrice Foundation, it aims to empower children and families to live healthier lives through better nutrition and adopt teaching methods such as learning about sustainability and food circularity through imperfect food.
Chawla said: “We aim to enable children to understand how their daily choices can shape and impact the world around them. (We) will teach kids about how they can identify better-value food options and reduce food waste by choosing imperfect edibles through initiatives such as FairPrice Group’s IMperfect Fellas – a programme that offers blemished but otherwise edible fruits and vegetables to customers at discounted prices.”
The initiative, developed by FairPrice Foundation in partnership with environmental social enterprise Terra SG and My First Skool by NTUC First Campus, with support from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, is expected to reach out to 1,000 preschool children from My First Skool by the end of this year.
It will be progressively rolled out across the My First Skool campuses in Singapore to reach 20,000 pupils by 2025.
The group CEO added that the goal is to expand the initiative to other preschools and community organisations in Singapore – particularly those which run early education programmes.
He said: “Economic realities are making it increasingly difficult for businesses to balance profit with purpose… (but through this), we want to help shape a generation of healthy, informed, and responsible individuals who can build a better future.”
A Full Plate and Start Strong, Stay Strong are part of a series aimed at elevating Singaporeans’ understanding of nutrition. The initiatives follow the Cheers Breakfast Club, a project that involved the distribution of 12,000 nutritious breakfast bundles to Primary 6 students across Singapore.
Khong said that the giving landscape has also evolved and “essentials today have a very different meaning to Singaporeans compared to 50 years ago”.
To keep up with the times, FairPrice has found other ways to engage the community, such as through festive block parties with residents. It has also returned more than S$900 million in discounts and rebates, among others, to the community.
On future plans, Chawla said: “As the nation’s largest retailer, we are dedicated to doing our part in uplifting all Singaporeans, and making every day a little better for those we serve. Our programmes will continue to reflect FairPrice Group’s commitment to empowering everyone with the nutrition they need to lead healthier and more fulfilled lives.”
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