SINGAPORE — The National Environment Agency (NEA) is handing out a one-time funding of $500 to each hawker centre cooked food stallholder who engages food delivery platforms or third-part logistic partners to deliver food to customers between 7 April and 31 May.

According to an NEA media release on Saturday (18 April), the funding is to mitigate the cost for stallholders who wish to engage food delivery services but are concerned about the onboarding fees. It also helps to defray other costs associated with food delivery.

Dining-in at hawker centres is banned during the current elevated safe distancing period until 4 May to curb the spread of COVID-19. Patrons are not to gather or loiter at dining areas of hawker centres to reduce movements and interactions at public areas. Takeaways and delivery are still allowed.

“Many hawkers are still not on food delivery services and hence cannot benefit from this segment of the market which has significantly increased during this Circuit Breaker period and likely to further increase over time,” Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Amy Khor, said in the media release.

“By encouraging hawkers to provide food delivery service to their customers through this one-time funding, we hope that members of the public can continue to enjoy food from their favourite hawker stalls during this challenging period.”

How to receive this funding

To receive the funding, stallholders are required to submit documentation of their agreement with the food delivery platform or third-party logistics player, along with any proof of food delivery orders made via them between 7 April and 31 May to nea_hpg@nea.gov.sg.

Upon verification, NEA will disburse the full $500 amount to the stallholder’s bank account.

This funding will be the latest in a series of initiatives by NEA to support cooked food stallholders during this period, which includes subsidy for table-cleaning and centralised dishwashing services, as well as full rental waiver from April to May and a 50 per cent rental waiver in March and June.

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