Elderly people seen taking leftovers at hawker centres: ‘They just don’t want to waste food’, Singapore News

A female cleaning attendant at the hawker centre said she had seen another elderly man engaging in the same practice for years.

This other elderly man, she pointed out, would often pay for his own food and drinks and appeared well put together. She assumed that it was unlikely that his actions were driven by financial constraints.

Happens at other hawker centres too 

The incident at Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre does not appear to be an isolated case, with elderly people reportedly seen collecting diners’ leftovers at other hawker centres as well. 

A cleaning attendant at People’s Park Food Centre in Chinatown said she had spotted at least two elderly men occasionally collecting leftover food from tray return stations, according to Shin Min Daily News.

She said she tried to stop them, reminding them that collecting leftovers from tray return points was unhygienic, and had even offered to buy them food instead.

“They didn’t want me to buy them food either,” she shared. 

“Most of them are mild-mannered and don’t get into conflicts with others, but one of them had a strong urine smell and tended to keep to himself.”

Hawkers target $1m to feed those in need

Earlier this year, a group of hawkers took part in the Community Meals Project – an initiative by fundraising platform Give.Asia. The fundraiser aims to raise $1m to help participating hawkers and non-profit organisations provide free, hot meals to those in need. 

Community Meals Project has since raised over $300,000 which, according to Give.Asia, can provide over 100,000 meals.

Our Tampines Hub, Boon Lay Hawker and Dignity Kitchen are among the participating hawker centres and food courts. 

According to Give.Asia, donations received in May were used to provide 13,900 free meals islandwide. 

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swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com