Charity launches vending machines to distribute food, public can buy at low prices

The charity Singapore Food Bank will place 24-hour vending machines in the Toa Payoh ice cream shop opened next month to sell food with a shelf life of less than four weeks. Three vending machines will be placed in the first batch. Canned food, white rice, oatmeal, and even abalone, low-income people will soon be able to get these fast-expiring but safe-to-eat foods at a 24-hour vending machine for free. Other members of the public can also buy it at a price of two yuan per copy. The Food Bank, which aims to reduce food waste, receives hundreds of metric tons of food donated by the public each year, some of which are about to expire. This is the first time they have used vending machines to distribute and sell donated food. Huang Weiting, one of the founders of the food bank, told Lianhe Zaobao that the food sold by the vending machine can include rice, quick-cooking noodles, bread, biscuits, and even canned abalone. The first three vending machines can store a total of 100 foods. These foods are all sold for two yuan, and the type of food depends on the donation received. The Singapore Food Bank receives hundreds of metric tons of food donated by the public every year. The Food Bank intends to put items that are about to expire in a 24-hour vending machine. Low-income earners can get them for free, and other members of the public can also buy them at a low price of two yuan each. The food bank will also cooperate with the family service center to distribute stored-value cards to residents in need in the area so that they can get the food they need at the vending machine for free. The food bank will distribute about 300 cards in the first batch, and each card will be recharged in points equivalent to about 50 yuan per month for cardholders to exchange for 25 kinds of food. The food bank used to sell these foods that were about to expire in the 'food storage room' located in Shen's Road for one yuan, but the storage room was closed not long ago. Creamier announced on its official website yesterday that the new store on the ground floor of Block 131 in Toa Payoh Lane 1 will be divided into two parts. One side will sell ice cream, and the other will be equipped with 24-hour vending machines and food collection boxes. In addition to the vending machines of the food bank, Creamier will also place vending machines that sell drinks, bread and daily necessities for residents to purchase. In addition, they will also launch more than 100 deli vending machines at Creamier's storefronts and on the ground floor of HDB flats in different regions in the second quarter of next year, each of which will also be sold at two yuan. The founder of the Food Bank, Huang Weiting, revealed that the food bank will set up a kitchen next year to cook these nutritious meals, using food donated by the public and purchasing additional ingredients. They will use quick-freezing technology to freeze lunch boxes and put them into vending machines, and place microwave ovens next to the vending machines to allow consumers to heat up the food. She said: 'According to our observations, the food that is generally distributed to the poor is not of high nutritional value. The food is cold when it is delivered to the door, and the beneficiaries report that it is not tasty. We thought of distributing food in the form of vending machines. Food is frozen. After three to six months, the dishes will also change depending on the ingredients. Our long-term goal is to distribute 100,000 stored-value cards to help disadvantaged groups.” It is reported that Creamier will start business on the 8th of next month. The Food Bank’s The vending machines will be officially launched on World Food Day on the 16th of next month. The above information is shared by the vending machine manufacturer. Please mark the reprint. Previous post: Toasted sandwich vending machine appeared in Japan.