On 7 April, the Singapore government declared a national lock down, dubbed the “Circuit Breaker” to curb the spread of COVID-19. During this time, strict safe management measures, which restricted movement, inadvertently hindered some seniors – especially less-privileged seniors who did not have adequate family support – from getting daily essentials. To address this, we rolled out FairPrice on Wheels in April 2020, during the national lock down with the aim of enhancing accessibility of daily essentials at selected mature residential estates with a higher concentration of low-income seniors. Specially outfitted grocery vans carried basic grocery essentials such as rice, bread, cooking oil, canned food, toiletries, fruits and vegetables to the doorstep of communities who needed them the most. In all, 5 vans were deployed to 11 locations across Singapore.

Following the end of the Circuit Breaker in June, FairPrice on Wheels was progressively phased out by October after having achieved its objective of providing daily essentials during the lockdown period. As the initiative was very well received by the community, the initiative was relaunched in November 2020 with a specially outfitted air-conditioned truck that was able to offer an even wider range of products, including chilled and frozen items. As of April 2021, the truck serves residents in Clementi, Kaki Bukit, Bukit Purmei, Telok Blangah and West Coast estates.