“IS SINGAPORE HUNGRY?”local food issues, in a nutshell
Heather Chi
“…{Food for All} is an independent research organization that conducts action-oriented community research on food issues in Singapore…We aim to raise awareness of hunger and food security issues, take action, and encourage the appreciation of food!”
{Local Food Issues}• Local poor: Is
Singapore hungry? • Food security: where
does our food come from?
• Food prices: who’s setting them and what can we do?
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Background• Volunteered at local food
rations programme in 2006• Assisting low income
households and elderly couples• May 2009: 280 families, S$3000
for rice, cooking oil, canned food, bread, milk powder, cereals (< total value of food distributed because of June surplus and food already donated before email appeal)
Why Are People Hungry?
• Possible reasons include:– Inability to obtain viable long-term
employment, esp. lack of suitable job opportunities for elderly
– Inaccessibility of the poor: “no begging” laws, difficulty communicating due to language barriers and complicated applications for formal social services
• Hunger plays a part:– Focus on short-term needs (i.e.
food) and may be unwilling/unable to plan ahead for income stability
– Affects physical and mental health, and ability to make rational decisions
Current Situation
• No public statistics on hunger and poverty in Singapore; some research on local poverty conducted by the NUS Social Work Department and documented by various NGOs
• The hungry are discovered when RCs, NCs and VWOs do door-knocking
• Food from the Heart (www.foodheart.org): Best established food rations programme in Singapore assists some 11, 000 families through bread distribution, school goodie bag programme and self-collection centres
• Preliminary survey by Food for All has identified an additional 45 FRPs (mainly in CDCs and RCs) - assisting 50-200 people each
Issues encountered
• Ad-hoc: FRP not core activity of Family Service Centre/Community Centre --> offered due to demand from needy residents
• Manpower: packing and distributing of food rations was done mainly by elderly volunteers with RCs and students
• Cost of food: rations bought at retail price (35-45% markup*); higher food prices creates higher demand for food rations
• Black market: No documentation of FRPs and little communication between FRPs --> scams whereby same persons apply to multiple FRPs and hoard food
• Inappropriate food: Over-reliance on single corporate sponsor; halal food; inability to afford fuel to cook dried food; variety, etc.
Reflections• Many more hungry and poor than we
may think - many are invisible• Food Rations Programmes in
Singapore are hidden too! • Current programmes may be stop-gap
measures rather than an integrated long-term strategy to combat poverty and hunger
• Issue is not food shortages, but a lack of information and capacity
• Poor and hungry not involved in community organizing - leading to ‘bad fit’ and disempowerment
• Need for holistic understanding of food resilience: incorporating action on food prices and community food security
What Can Be Done?
• Encouraging community food programmes that involve the hungry as an equal partner
• Documenting FRPs and putting them in touch with each other, and with the relevant government agencies
• Creating platform for FRPs to purchase directly from food suppliers and distributors
• Raising awareness of extent of hunger and poverty: involve more community groups and NGOs to conduct effective food drives
• Researching the root causes of hunger and poverty in Singapore
{Thank You!…}
or do you have “questions”!
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