NTUC First Campus launches S$350,000 Food and Nutrition Programme to support 2,500 low-income families

Families and children will benefit from food packs including daily necessities, Kopitiam cards and health and nutrition workshops every quarter.

NTUC First Campus (NFC) today unveiled plans for a S$350,000 Food and Nutrition Programme to support an estimated 2,500 low-income families this year. The programme was made possible with the generous support from FairPrice Group and NTUC First Campus’ Bright Horizons Fund (BHF) donors. This is in line with the holistic efforts of the NTUC Enterprise group of social enterprises to care for families, especially during these challenging times.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, Group CEO of NTUC Enterprise, said: “Amid these trying times, our NTUC Enterprise group of social enterprises have continued to support families who may need a helping hand. To this end, NTUC First Campus has joined hands with FairPrice Group to support low-income families and their children under a new Food and Nutrition Programme to make daily necessities accessible to them. As a group, our social enterprises are able to leverage the strengths and network of one another to do more good for our community. This is part of our holistic efforts to take care of the needs of our families and we will continue to put them at the core of what we do.”

Sharing the rationale behind this programme, Ms Chan Su Yee, NTUC First Campus’ CEO, said: “NTUC First Campus is committed to ensuring that every child has a good start. Nutrition is essential to development and learning in young children and this initiative is part of our efforts to give a leg up to lower-income families who often face greater challenges in ensuring good nutrition. We are very grateful to have the support of FairPrice Group, and our Bright Horizons Fund donors to provide food packs, daily necessities, and knowledge on how to eat healthy to an estimated 2,500 low-income families. This will equip the families to better care for the health of their children and give the children a good start in life!”

*Note: photos and video were taken before revised COVID-19 precautionary measures on 8 May 2021

Under this programme, families and children will receive food packs comprising specially curated food items such as fruits and vegetables, FairPrice Housebrand food products with the ‘Healthier Choice’ symbol like whole-wheat spaghetti, daily necessities such as cod liver oil and vitamin C pastilles for children, and Kopitiam cards. NFC also hopes to equip families with useful information on health and nutrition through various ways – health and nutrition workshops and other resources. In total, the amount of support that each family will receive this year is worth more than S$100. The details are as follows:

(i) Making food and daily necessities accessible

NFC conducted a survey with some of these families to learn about their dietary needs. The key findings showed that most of them cook a few times weekly as they find it costly to dine out. Based on the information gathered, NFC worked closely with NTUC FairPrice to curate the food items and daily necessities in the food packs. Besides making these items accessible to the families, NFC hopes that the items will effectively support their nutritional needs and encourage them to adopt a healthy and balanced diet. In addition, NFC collaborated with Kopitiam to provide Kopitiam cards to these families so that they have access to cooked food and can dine out when necessary.

(ii) Equipping families with useful knowledge on health and nutrition

The survey also found that families would like to be more informed on the nutritional value of the food that they consume. As added support for families to better care for their children, NFC will be organising health and nutrition workshops conducted by SEED Institute. These workshops will cover various child-related health topics such as healthy diets, preventing myopia and more. For instance, parents will be guided on the nutritional value of the food items in the food pack and learn how to cook nutritious dishes through hands-on activities.

Furthermore, an informative placemat with tips on eating healthily will be provided to families. NFC also plans to share a family activity kit that includes card games on nutrition and healthy habits for parents to bond with their children and to reinforce healthy eating habits.

The programme will be funded by NFC’s BHF, with support from donors – FairPrice Foundation, Pavilion Capital and Mr Jimmy Phoon. It will be implemented in phases starting from the second quarter of 2021. This will be progressively extended to the whole network of more than 140 MFS centres by the third quarter of this year.

Low-income families and children who meet the following criteria will be eligible for the programme:

• Monthly household incomes of S$4,500 or less or monthly per capita incomes of S$1,125 or less; and
• Their child is enrolled in NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool (MFS)

Mdm Lisa (not her real name), a mother of a K2 child at My First Skool who will benefit from the programme, said: “Currently, most of my monthly household income is spent on groceries and daily necessities for my child and I and it is financially challenging for us. I am glad that this programme will provide us with food packs and daily necessities. Besides lessening my financial burden, my daughter will be able to enjoy more nutritious food so that she can grow and learn better. The food and nutrition workshop will also help to widen my knowledge about the nutritional value of food and healthy eating, and I can apply what I learn to cook more nutritious meals for my daughter in the future.”

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