Residents flock to Bishan marketplace for near-expiry and imperfect food at discounted prices

Most items were slashed to 50% to 70% of their usual prices.

For example, cans of baked beans were going for $1 each, while packs of steamed buns were sold for $2. One fruit stall offered a “buffet”, where customers could fill up a box with any variety of fruit they liked for $8.90.

The marketplace has its origins in a food rescue project by a group of community volunteers who are passionate about sustainability, said Sylvia Loh, chairperson of Bishan East-Sin Ming Green Action Committee.

Since 2022, the team has been gathering donations of surplus or near-expiry food from vendors and partner organisations and distributing them for free to residents every month.

But they later started the marketplace as a way to also support the vendors in recovering part of their costs and creating awareness of their products, said Loh.

The marketplace steadily grew in popularity with vendors and members of the public, with some travelling from Woodlands or Bedok to shop.

“Especially with the rising cost of living, some might find it is a good time to stock up for their daily necessities or festive events,” said Loh.

Loh said the marketplace is the “brainchild” of community volunteers, who contact various vendors to bring them on board.

Frozen food distributor CS Tay has set up shop at the marketplace since 2025. The company brought items like chicken midwings which will expire in less than six months.

The short expiry date would not be accepted by supermarkets.

Its head of sales Karen Tan said the company mostly clears its stocks at the marketplace. It also sees this as a form of charity, by helping lower-income families buy the products at affordable prices.

Some items that food distributor Lim Siang Huat put up for sale, like ready-to-cook paste and instant noodles, were going for even lower than cost price – just to prevent them from being wasted.

“One customer actually bought a carton of noodles. He tried it the last time (at the previous marketplace) and liked it a lot,” said the company’s head of trade marketing Lissa Goh.

In a parliamentary debate in September about food resilience, MPs raised ideas to tackle food waste in Singapore amid rising food prices caused by hotter weather and the Middle East conflicts.

Over at Queenstown, about 100 volunteers collected donated items from drop-off points on Nov 7 and handed them to a charity, Hao Ren Hao Shi, to distribute to nearly 500 residents in need.

It was part of their annual food donation drive on Nov 7.

The items were collated over two weeks by 10 community partners, 10 Residents’ Networks and six corporate partners, as part of efforts to reduce food waste and support residents in need.