Woodlands residents can sign up online for free meal during Ramadan
Since it was set up in 2016, a popular scheme that distributes free briyani meals to Woodlands residents from the foot of a Housing Board block during Ramadan would typically attract hundreds of people each time.
While the coronavirus situation is now under control, such large crowds would still pose a risk to residents.
To address this, a new scheme was devised under which residents can sign up for the free meals online and be able to collect them any day of the week.
Ramadan Belanja-A-Meal @ Woodlands is the brainchild of the Woodlands Malay Activity Executive Committee and Woodlands Digital Office under Woodlands Community Club.
They said in a statement yesterday that residents can collect one free meal a week from designated hawker and coffee shop stalls. The scheme kicked off last week and will last till the end of the fasting month.
BENEFIT
Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jaafar, who launched the scheme at Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre yesterday, said it will also benefit the stallholders by bringing more business to them.
"While it is nice to have a lot of people come together in a big crowd, this is a good way to go forward given the constraints of the Covid-19 situation," added Ms Mariam, who oversees Woodlands ward.
Madam Salmah Ahmat, 73, and her 41-year-old son Muhammad Azaman, were able to redeem two meals of nasi goreng from the hawker centre yesterday.
"Our financial situation is tight, and sometimes when we don't have enough to eat, we will just eat bread.
"This is very helpful for us," said Madam Salmah, a retired cleaner who lives in a rental flat.
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