- Trial mobile grocery van initiative to be deployed in mature estates with higher concentration of low-income seniors
- “FairPrice on Wheels” will carry basic essential groceries and serve five locations daily from 9am to 2pm
SINGAPORE, 22 April 2020 – NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) today announced the launch of the pilot of “FairPrice on Wheels”, a community initiative to provide basic essential grocery items at selected mature estates with a higher concentration of low-income seniors through specially outfitted grocery vans. The initiative will begin tomorrow, 23 April 2020.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Group CEO, FairPrice Group said: “While we encourage everyone to stay home during the circuit breaker period, we also understand that there may be people who do not have the option to have their groceries purchased on their behalf. Therefore, we aim to bring daily essentials closer to their homes, especially for seniors, so that they do not have to spend too much time away from home. We have also received feedback that some residents would also like to help their elderly neighbours purchase the groceries on their behalf and with this mobile van, it makes it that much more convenient for them to do this good deed for their neighbours.”
For the initial phase of this community initiative, “FairPrice on Wheels” will carry basic grocery essentials which includes a targeted range of rice, bread, instant noodles, cooking oil, canned food, toiletries, fruits and vegetables. The vans will operate daily from 9am to 2pm and accepts cash only. The van is open to all, and seniors who visit these vans will also be able to enjoy discounts from the Pioneer Generation (PG), Merdeka Generation (MG) and Senior Discounts schemes on its designated days.
“FairPrice on Wheels” will serve the following five locations:
- Commonwealth Link (Car park between Blk 109 and Blk 110)
- Telok Blangah Crescent (Loading/unloading bay between Blk 1 and Blk 4)
- Telok Blangah Rise (Car park between Blk 29 and Blk 32)
- Kampong Glam Community Club (Car park in front of Post Office at Blk 15)
- Jalan Kukoh (Car park in front of Blk 2)
These five locations were specially selected based on demographic data where more than 30 per cent of residents are above the age of 60 years old and are living mostly in 3-room HDB flats.
FairPrice will proactively study customer feedback and receptivity towards this community initiative and aims to further enhance the programme with more value-added services. Better equipped and designed vans are being planned which will add to the existing fleet to serve more areas. Added services such as pre-ordering is also being considered and could be made available at the next phase – details will be released at a later date.
Precautionary Measures to Enhance Safety while patronising FairPrice on Wheels
Taking reference from the Ministry of Health’s and Enterprise Singapore’s safe distancing and safety guidelines, FairPrice has also put in place various precautionary measures to maintain safe distancing while shopping at “FairPrice on Wheels” vans.
These measures include maintaining safe distancing through cone markings and crowd control measures. Staff will be on the ground to facilitate queue management. All shoppers and staff are also required to put on a mask at all times when patronising the mobile store. Customers may also contact the van through a dedicated mobile number to check in real-time on the queue status before making their way down.
Purchase Limits of Essential Items
The purchase limits per customer that was implemented on 27 March 2020 across all FairPrice island-wide will also apply at “FairPrice on Wheels” vans. These purchase limits include:
Paper products: Two packs (toilet paper, facial tissues, kitchen towels)
- Instant noodles or pasta: Two packs
- Rice: 10 kilograms
- Vegetables: S$30
- Fresh, frozen and processed poultry: S$30
- Eggs: Three packs of 10 or One tray of 30 per customer
- Canned products: Six cans (choice of meat, fish or vegetables)
- Cooking oil: Five litres
For more information, please visit FairPrice’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thatsmyfairprice) or contact its customer service team at 6552 2722 or via email at [email protected].
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