Covid's Financial Impact Sparks...

COVID-19'S FINANCIAL IMPACT SPARKS SINGAPORE'S KAMPONG SPIRIT

CHONG WANLING, NURSYALIZA and INEZ ONG hear from the community and TheJumaatInitiative about the free food pantry, ‘Suspended Groceries’, which encourages the community to look out for their neighbours during financial struggles.

Mr Max Tay, an interior designer, struggled to put food on his family’s table after his business took a hit by COVID-19, leading to him being unable to proceed with his job.

Many Singaporeans like him, especially those earning a lower income, suffered immensely from the pandemic shocking the global economy. According to Today, those previously earning S$2,999 or lower were the most vulnerable, with 51% seeing their income decline by more than half.

Hence, these financial difficulties may lead to these Singaporeans being unable to purchase sufficient groceries and necessities for their family.

Singapore’s government has since come up with several initiatives, such as the Covid-19 Care and Support Package, which gave lower-income families $150 worth of grocery vouchers in October 2020.

However, these government efforts may not be substantial to reach out to enough Singaporeans. Thus, community efforts are currently being initiated to further alleviate those worries.

Upon hearing about ‘Suspended Groceries’, a free food pantry located over at Blk 510B, Yishun St 51, Mr Tay took home a few cans of food and bags of rice.

“[The food pantry] really helped me put food on the table for my family, especially since we were struggling to do so during such an arduous time,” says Mr Tay.

“We don’t go to sleep while our neighbour goes to bed hungry,” says Mr Mohammad Hazwan, one of the organisers behind ‘Suspended Groceries’.

The pantry first made its appearance on Sept 26, 2020 and is one of the many initiatives conducted by ‘TheJumaatInitiative’, a collective effort that Mr Hazwan and two of his friends created in September 2019.

After a year of planning weekly initiatives, they felt compelled to do more and noticed that many people, especially their neighbours, suffered financially by the pandemic.

Starting off with $200 of funds, they purchased their first food pantry from Carousell’s ‘Free Items’ category and created a Facebook group to spread awareness and provide a platform to foster the community’s kampong (village) spirit.

“There's a saying that your neighbours are your closest form of family. How we treat our family should also be the same to our immediate neighbours,” says Mr Hazwan. “You never know if any of our neighbours are suffering in silence.”

As an open-source initiative, there are no restrictions as to how much one can donate or take other than the typical requirements, such as ensuring that the food is safe for consumption.

Since its appearance, ‘Suspended Groceries’ has garnered much attention from many donors and those

in need. Mr Hazwan shares that they have had numerous people donating items in bulk to support the initiative.

“During these tough COVID periods, some people are just living day by day, worrying about how to feed their families,” says Mr Eddy He, a Banking IT Manager.

Despite not residing in Yishun, Mr He drove down to the HDB block after chancing upon a post appealing for donations and went to purchase huge amounts of food items such as canned food and milk, which took him over three days to load onto the pantry.

“Personally I think [the initiative] is very useful as there are people who are unreached or do not qualify for public assistance due to temporary situations,” says Mr He.

While people like him who make big donations play a remarkable role in helping the community during a gruelling time, not everyone has the financial power to do so. For people like Ms Elise Loke, an ITE Central student, donating something as simple as a packet of marshmallows is already an incredible gesture.

Believing in the idea of “paying forward”, Ms Loke commends the organisers for creating and committing to the initiative despite having their own hectic schedules.

“The less fortunate need not worry too much about not having enough to eat, the expenses that go to food could help them ease their other financial needs,” says Ms Loke.

Mr Tay explains that ‘Suspended Groceries’ allowed him to use his earnings for other necessities for the family. Expressing his gratitude to the organisers, he says: “All their kind efforts really helps to build a more close-knit community, who can stand together during difficult times.”

With the support of initiatives such as ‘Suspended Groceries’, lower-income families no longer need worry as much about having insufficient groceries and necessities.

When asked about their future plans, Mr Hazwan says: “We’re still venturing and wanting to set-up more ‘self-sustaining’ food pantry cabinets to other towns, family care centres, mosques, churches, temples, which are the source of hope for the people.”

“Nothing is small, do our best,” says Mr Hazwan.

Donors have very generously donated tons of food to ‘Suspended Groceries’. Some of the food that people have donated include instant noodles, canned food and coffee sachets.

Photo by NURSYALIZA

Their Facebook group has been a great help in raising more awareness about this initiative. building a community of 724 members.

Photo by CHONG WAN LING