WICKED!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Free meal vouchers for 120 needy
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>The recipients, who are all on public assistance, will get $36 worth of vouchers every month for a year </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Alvin Lim
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Mr Ong Chong Beng, 68, (left) and Mr Sim Tuck Kuang, 70, tucks into their meals, bought using vouchers given out by the Tanglin-Cairnhill division of Tanjong Pagar GRC, which is spending $52,000 a year on the free-meal scheme. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Two pieces of bread and a cup of coffee are what 70-year-old retiree Sim Tuck Kuang has for lunch when money is tight.
But when The Sunday Times spotted him last Friday at a hawker centre in Bukit Merah View, he was wolfing down a bowl of fishball noodles.
He is eating better now because he is among 120 people - all on the Public Assistance (PA) scheme - benefiting from a Free Hawker Meal Programme.
The Tanglin-Cairnhill division of Tanjong Pagar GRC is spending $52,000 a year on the scheme, which was launched a week ago. It will provide meal vouchers worth $36 every month for one year to recipients.
Mr Sim, a former tailor, lives alone in a two-room rental flat in Henderson Road. The PA recipient gets about $300 every month but after paying rent, utilities and service and conservancy charges, he has less than $200 left.
'I try to save money by having bread and kopi on some days when the money is running out,' he said. He has no children. His wife used to cook but after she died two years ago of lung disease, he now eats in nearby hawker centres.
Four coffee shops in Bukit Merah View and Henderson Road are on the scheme, as are all 80 stalls at the Bukit Merah View Food Centre.
Mr Sim is grateful that he can eat better now. 'I don't ask for much, I just hope to have a simple life,' he said.
Like Mr Sim, 82-year-old Adimulam Narayanam has a similar story to tell.
His wife died 12 years ago and he has been living alone in a one-room flat in Bukit Merah View ever since. Over a meal of roti prata, he told The Sunday Times that he can cook delicious curry, among other items. But the rising cost of ingredients and his weak legs have made cooking inconvenient.
His three sons, who live in India, visit him once every two years. He tries to save as much as he can to visit them, so every dollar counts.
'The $36 is not much but at least I don't have to worry about my food for 10 days,' he said.
Most participating hawkers said the vouchers are a good idea and they are more than willing to help out.
Mr Tay Eng Baa, 61, who runs a mixed-rice stall, said he always dishes out bigger portions to those with the vouchers.
But another hawker has noted a rigidity in the scheme. Mr Booi Chun Yue, 25, who helps out at his mother's curry-rice stall, said the vouchers have a certain value.
'If the food costs $2.50 and it is paid for with a $3 voucher, we will have to give a $3 portion as we can't give back 50 cents in change,' he said.
Mr Henry Ang, one of the programme's coordinators, said they will monitor the situation for two months before deciding on a solution.
'We plan to continue the programme next year, and hopefully, we will be able to extend it to non-PA recipients as well,' he said. [email protected]
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Free meal vouchers for 120 needy
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>The recipients, who are all on public assistance, will get $36 worth of vouchers every month for a year </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Alvin Lim
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Ong Chong Beng, 68, (left) and Mr Sim Tuck Kuang, 70, tucks into their meals, bought using vouchers given out by the Tanglin-Cairnhill division of Tanjong Pagar GRC, which is spending $52,000 a year on the free-meal scheme. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Two pieces of bread and a cup of coffee are what 70-year-old retiree Sim Tuck Kuang has for lunch when money is tight.
But when The Sunday Times spotted him last Friday at a hawker centre in Bukit Merah View, he was wolfing down a bowl of fishball noodles.
He is eating better now because he is among 120 people - all on the Public Assistance (PA) scheme - benefiting from a Free Hawker Meal Programme.
The Tanglin-Cairnhill division of Tanjong Pagar GRC is spending $52,000 a year on the scheme, which was launched a week ago. It will provide meal vouchers worth $36 every month for one year to recipients.
Mr Sim, a former tailor, lives alone in a two-room rental flat in Henderson Road. The PA recipient gets about $300 every month but after paying rent, utilities and service and conservancy charges, he has less than $200 left.
'I try to save money by having bread and kopi on some days when the money is running out,' he said. He has no children. His wife used to cook but after she died two years ago of lung disease, he now eats in nearby hawker centres.
Four coffee shops in Bukit Merah View and Henderson Road are on the scheme, as are all 80 stalls at the Bukit Merah View Food Centre.
Mr Sim is grateful that he can eat better now. 'I don't ask for much, I just hope to have a simple life,' he said.
Like Mr Sim, 82-year-old Adimulam Narayanam has a similar story to tell.
His wife died 12 years ago and he has been living alone in a one-room flat in Bukit Merah View ever since. Over a meal of roti prata, he told The Sunday Times that he can cook delicious curry, among other items. But the rising cost of ingredients and his weak legs have made cooking inconvenient.
His three sons, who live in India, visit him once every two years. He tries to save as much as he can to visit them, so every dollar counts.
'The $36 is not much but at least I don't have to worry about my food for 10 days,' he said.
Most participating hawkers said the vouchers are a good idea and they are more than willing to help out.
Mr Tay Eng Baa, 61, who runs a mixed-rice stall, said he always dishes out bigger portions to those with the vouchers.
But another hawker has noted a rigidity in the scheme. Mr Booi Chun Yue, 25, who helps out at his mother's curry-rice stall, said the vouchers have a certain value.
'If the food costs $2.50 and it is paid for with a $3 voucher, we will have to give a $3 portion as we can't give back 50 cents in change,' he said.
Mr Henry Ang, one of the programme's coordinators, said they will monitor the situation for two months before deciding on a solution.
'We plan to continue the programme next year, and hopefully, we will be able to extend it to non-PA recipients as well,' he said. [email protected]
