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A new initiative at Redhill Food Centre allows patrons to pay for another's meal, and these free meals can then be redeemed by others such as the needy.
The pilot of the programme, called "It's On Me", kicked off on the morning of Aug. 9 with 49 participating hawkers.
Treating others to meals
Member of Parliament for Radin Mas SMC Melvin Yong shared more details about the programme in a Facebook post.
Each gifted meal or drink will be represented by a small magnet on a board displayed at the front of the stall.
Like this:
Photo from Kenny Ang / FB
Beneficiaries such as the less fortunate can simply drop by stalls to pick up a magnet, which they can exchange for a free meal or drink from the hawker.
Yong shared that the programme was meant to help both the hawkers ailing during the pandemic, as well as those who needed the free meals.
Hawkers at the food centre had seen business drop significantly in the past month since dining in was disallowed, with some seeing a 70 per cent decrease.
As those with more purchasing power buy more meals to treat others, Yong thus hopes that the initiative is able to "tap on community support" to help out both parties.
Currently, there are 49 hawkers participating in the pilot launch, and Yong added that he is looking forward to more joining in the next phase of the programme.
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Top photo from Melvin Yong and Kenny Ang / FB