It’s unequivocal that the pandemic tore through the earth and left a trail of horrors in its wake, and the F&B industry is one of them. As we ramp up our efforts to save as many elderly hawker stall owners as possible, the problem of food wastage is palpably the lesser of concerns. Furthermore, following the no dining-in policy this Phase 2 HA, the herculean effort in Singapore’s sustainability movement has been set back by the avalanche of takeaway containers. Hence, it’s all the more heartening to hear of the new collaboration launched on 29 May 2021, between @wheretodapao and Just Dabao, an initiative to help hawker stall owners clear their surplus at marked down prices.
From its birth on 21 May 2021 to date, @Wheretodapao, a non-profit Instagram account gathering public submissions to feature elderly hawker stalls, has gained a legion of 30K supporters. Submissions have been streaming in, and more recently, their collaboration with Just Dabao, a sustainable green initiative that partners up with F&B merchants, to sell their surplus food in the form of Shiok Bags, on their website.
Just Dabao has a fluid system that can help elderly hawkers reduce their sunk costs, and is aimed to maximise their convenience. Just Dabao sets up their online profiles, ideal for our elderly hawkers who are not attuned to digital technology—the key to exposure and customers in these trying times. There are no additional charges and commissions, with no commitment required for them to have surplus food all the time. Just Dabao also fully commits to their mantra of sustainability, in the form of their self pick-up model. This reduces the need for delivery drivers, obliterating the carbon footprint they’ll incur.
More importantly, this collaboration relies on the public’s solidarity with these initiatives, as they encourage you to spread the message to your familiar elderly hawker stall uncles and aunties. You can help them get on board by visiting their page and keying in the stall details, upon the owners’ agreement. Also, as a customer of Just Dabao, why not support your elderly hawkers by purchasing the shiok bags? These bags contain delicious hawker fare at discounted prices. With this, survival and sustainability could be less of a mammoth effort.
After all, with burgeoning businesses in the fight against food waste, do we really want to go back to square one? The pandemic will cease in existence and take a colossal place in history, yes, but Mother Earth needs our continuous effort to be livable. After all, we have seen social media in starting movements to raise awareness for myriads of issues, so why not ride on the public’s love for our familiar nosh, and rope the elderly hawkers into sustainability through this collaboration?
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