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Our local hawkers have been seen an outpour of support from Singaporeans during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), where eating out was no longer viable. Netizens have taken to social media to spread awareness for less tech-savvy elderly hawkers who have fallen through the cracks when a vast majority of the F&B industry switched to online delivery platforms such as Grab to stay in business.
Hawkers United, a Facebook group with over 298,500 members, is a platform where hawkers can advertise promotional prices or menu items. Netizens can also upload photos and give shoutouts to their favourite hawker stalls in order to show their loyalty and support.
In an effort to keep these businesses afloat, Grab will be sending ambassadors to different hawker centres to assist hawkers in registering their businesses on GrabFood. In order to help further alleviate the financial strain on these hawkers, Grab is also offering a 100% commission rebate for National Environment Agency-regulated hawkers until 15 June 2021.
Grab’s initiative, a result of Singaporeans’ feedback to include more hawkers on online food delivery platforms, shows that bigger corporations are not just taking actions to keep these local businesses afloat during these troubling times, but also making it easier for Singaporeans to continue supporting them.
This islandwide initiative covers hawker centres all over Singapore, which started on 2 June 2021 and will continue all the way to 11 June 2021. Hawker centres receiving Grab’s assistance include Berseh Food Centre, Chinatown Market, Maxwell Food Centre, Zion Riverside Food Centre, Hong Lim Market & Food Centre and more. Since the day it was posted, Grab’s initiative has received over 500 likes and 99 shares.
Singaporeans are beginning to discuss issues on packaging and the inevitable influx of wastage caused by disposable containers. Many have also expressed concern about how elderly hawkers may struggle with inflating the prices of their affordable fare, as they are not used to taking Grab’s hefty commission fees into consideration when doing business.
Despite such worries, many Singaporeans remain cautiously optimistic and eager to show their support in any way they can.
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