With most people staying home more during the circuit breaker period (and now Phase One), many of us pass the time by picking up new hobbies, spending time with family, or catching up on some zzz's.

But there have also been many individuals who have dedicated time and money to providing food for those in need, especially those fighting on the frontlines of Covid-19.

One Singaporean couple, Ben Tan and Catherine Fong, has contributed to this movement, by spending a good part of the past two months cooking and delivering free bento boxes to frontline healthcare workers in hospitals.

Tan and Fong, the founders of Lè Fusion restaurant at Robertson Quay, started this initiative hoping to spread joy through sharing their food with those working on the frontlines of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Fong takes the lead on liaising with hospitals and handling delivery arrangements, while Tan heads the cooking and preparation of the bento boxes.

Best way to contribute: providing meals

As a chef in the F&B industry, Tan felt that the best way he could contribute to the fight against Covid-19 was to provide meals for frontline healthcare workers, especially those who are working in isolation wards and can't leave during their shifts.

He says:

"They are the ones battling the Covid-19 pandemic in the frontline, and as we all yearn for a positive turn in this situation, these are the key people we should be taking care of."

They managed to get in touch with a nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) through one of their neighbours, who happens to be a doctor.

Tan and Fong made their first bento delivery on Apr. 14, to NCID.

And through that initial introduction, the couple was able to get in touch with other hospitals as well, to offer their catering service.

At the time of writing, the couple has delivered more than 1,220 bento boxes to NCID, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and Singapore General Hospital.

Once the food is delivered, their contacts within the hospitals help to distribute the bento boxes to various staff members.

The frontline workers who receive the bento boxes range from administrative staff, to healthcare staff working in the isolation wards, to cleaning staff.

How they manage the process

So how do the two of them manage arranging for and delivering so many bento boxes?

Fong handles the logistics, finding out how many bento boxes the hospitals need, and arranging the time and date of the deliveries.

Some hospitals receive bentos on an ad-hoc basis, while others have longer-term arrangements.

For example, the couple had an arrangement with Ng Teng Fong General Hospital to deliver 40 bento boxes weekly in May.

Meanwhile, they are continuing to deliver bentos to Singapore General Hospital three times each week.

"We often will recontact some of them to check if they would like to receive further deliveries," says Tan.

After liaising with the hospitals, Fong then plans the menu with Tan and the rest of the kitchen staff, noting any dietary restrictions, such as for vegetarians.

Preparing the food requires the whole team, Fong explains:

"The kitchen staff sometimes will need to prep a day before on the raw ingredients, and on the day itself, the entire restaurant staff will all be involved from the cooking, to portioning, to garnishing, etc."

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While labelling and packing the bento boxes, the staff also put in thank you notes for the frontline workers.

Fong adds, "Knowing the purpose of these bentos, everyone puts in their best for it."

And then, once the bento boxes have been cooked, arranged, and packaged, Tan personally delivers them to each of the hospitals.

Facing tough but fun challenges together

But of course, such a large feat is no walk in the park for this husband-and-wife team, and comes along with its own set of challenges.

For one, Fong admits that she and Tan have differences of opinion sometimes:

"It’s not easy to work together as a couple as we sometimes will have different ideas on how things should be.

Ben likes things more traditional whereby I am more experimental and adventurous."

Another challenge posed by the initiative is changing up the food in bento boxes, so that they don’t get repetitive.

"They can’t be having the same dishes thrice a week, they will definitely get bored of it!" Fong explains.

Both Fong and Tan consider this to be a good and fun challenge, though. As Tan shares:

"My team and I find this a great challenge! It’s also a way to hone my skills in the kitchen.

We brainstorm and come up with different dishes every single time."

The couple also comes up with special recipes once in a while, such as "festive" menus for holidays.

For example, the Hari Raya menu featured chicken rendang and sambal telur (egg) while the Vesak Day bentos included a special braised chicken rice.

"It’s a public holiday but the healthcare staff will still be working, so we thought of something extra special for them," shared Fong.

It’s not about the cost

And then, of course, there are the economic challenges during this Covid-19 period.

Business at Lè Fusion, which opened in November 2019, has inevitably been affected, with revenue dropping by 60 per cent in the past few months.

Tan also owns several entertainment outlets, which have all been temporarily closed due to Covid-19 measures.

Despite this, the couple isn't letting their financial setbacks stop them from doing what they feel they should:

"To us, it’s not just about the cost of the meals. But we hope that we can do our part during this crisis.

...As restaurant owners, our 'best way' is to cook for others.

And their hard work has paid off, as they have been able to see the fruits of their labour in the reactions of the recipients. Fong said:

"We sometimes will get WhatsApp messages from the healthcare staff thanking us, telling us how delicious the food is and how appreciative they are for what we do.

Some of them will post on Facebook or Instagram showing themselves enjoying the food. It is very heartwarming to know that our little bento is able to reach out and be so meaningful.

… We hope to let them know that every little effort they give is being appreciated."

Hope others can be encouraged to help how they can

Fong and Tan plan to continue their bento donation initiative, and don't have an end date set in stone.

Instead, that decision will depend on the situation.

In the meantime, Fong shares, they hope to continue supporting frontline healthcare workers:

"During this time more than ever, we need to have a grateful heart for those who are working in the healthcare sector. Circuit breaker may be over, but their work is not over yet.

They are still working hard to ensure our safety and we hope to continue helping them in the little ways we can. It makes us happy to see them look forward to receiving our food."

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The couple is also looking to expand the reach of their food, to share it with other communities in need, such as low-income individuals and the homeless.

One way they have done so is by partnering Local x Local, a Facebook group that crowdfunds to provide meals to local communities that need assistance.

Both hope that others who are interested in providing support to those on the frontlines might also feel encouraged to do so.

Tan shares of their experience:

"Personally, it has been a great pleasure [and] honour to cook for these Covid-19 fighters, and ensure that they eat well. It’s important our knights eat well and stay healthy!

I treasure the short interactions with them during our delivery trips, and hope to bring to light what goes behind-the-scenes and their hard work every day.

Hope we can encourage more people to step up and contribute in their own little ways!"

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Stories of Us is a series about ordinary people in Singapore and the unique ways they’re living their lives. Be it breaking away from conventions, pursuing an atypical passion, or the struggles they are facing, these stories remind us both of our individual uniqueness and our collective humanity.

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Top photos courtesy of Lè Fusion.