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Eligible families in Queenstown get to shop for free at charity-run minimart

To ease the financial burden for low-income residents.

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January 05, 2025, 12:47 PM

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Eligible residents can now shop for free at a Queenstown minimart.

Happy Mart @ Stirling, set up by the charity Hao Ren Hao Shi at 49 Stirling Road to serve low-income beneficiaries in the community, was officially launched on Jan. 4.

The minimart operates on a card system, with eligible residents getting 12 credits a month in stored value cards to redeem groceries for free, according to The Straits Times.

They can get staples such as rice, noodles, and bread, fresh produce like fruits, eggs and vegetables, and toiletries.

Image from Hao Ren Hao Shi/Facebook

Image from Hao Ren Hao Shi/Facebook

There are also items like cake and roast chicken available.

Image from Hao Ren Hao Shi/Facebook

The minimart is only open two days a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, from 10am to 2pm.

In a report by ST, Hao Ren Hao Shi founder Anson Ng said that 160 residents currently get free credits to shop there, but they ultimately hope to serve between 300 and 500 residents.

Run by volunteers

The minimart has been in operation for around two months since soft-launching on Oct. 20, according to Hao Ren Hao Shi's Facebook post.

Volunteers help to run the minimart, serving as cashiers and helping to restock the shelves with groceries.

Eligible residents who register with their community centre will be issued a card from the charity to shop at the mart.

"This will ease the financial burden of these families by providing essential household items and groceries to families in the Queenstown constituency," the post read.

Happy Mart is the charity’s first community mart.

Eric Chua, Member of Parliament for the Queenstown ward, opined that such a model of giving would be more dignified and empowering to recipients.

The minimart is open to receiving donations and donations-in-kind.

2nd community shop in Queenstown

Chua noted in a post on Jan. 4 that this is the second community shop serving needy residents in Queenstown.

The other shop was opened in 2022 at Lengkok Bahru by Food from the Heart.

Hao Ren Hao Shi was established in 2018.

The charity provides free groceries to needy Singaporeans through mobile grocery deliveries and monthly distribution drives.

Top image from Hao Ren Hao Shi/Facebook

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