New Portal to Help Residents Find Budget Meals in the Heartlands

The Housing & Development Board (HDB), in collaboration with the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), launched a new portal today to help residents locate HDB coffee shops offering budget meals[1] more easily and conveniently, with the information readily available online.

The BudgetMealGoWhere website will allow the public to search for HDB coffee shops offering budget meals near their location and view the budget meals and drinks available at these coffee shops. Members of the public can visit https://go.gov.sg/budgetmeal ↗ (opens in new tab), enter their postal code in the search box and click the ‘GO’ button. The site will list the coffee shops and the available budget meal options, starting with those located within 2 km of the postal code. The public can also access the platform via the LifeSG app[2] and website.

At the Ministry of National Development’s Committee of Supply debate in March 2023, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann had announced that all coffee shops leased from HDB will have to offer budget meal options upon their tenancy renewal starting May 2023. This extension aims to encourage coffee shop operators to offer affordable food options to residents, while considering their commercial interests.

With this change, by 2026, budget meals will progressively be offered at all 374 HDB rental coffee shops[3]. For a start, about 40 coffee shops are currently listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere website, with more being progressively added. HDB will work with GovTech to continually improve the website’s functionality and listing to make it more useful for Singaporeans, and members of the public can also provide feedback on the budget meals.

In addition, to help customers identify the budget meals more easily, participating stalls will display the budget meal decal stickers on their food display signage, indicating the budget meals on offer.

Budget meal decals will serve as visual cues to inform customers that the option is available at the stall.

Since 2018, new HDB coffee shops have been let out via Price-Quality Method (PQM) tenders. This approach allows HDB to better meet the needs of residents while ensuring rents remain sustainable for operators, as PQM tenders are reviewed holistically based on a range of criteria, and not just based on price alone. One of the additional requirements that was factored into the PQM tenders was affordability of food and drinks offering, where tenderers must provide budget meals at six stalls and a budget drink as part of their tender bids.

More budget meal options on the way

To provide affordable meal options for more residents, the budget meals requirement has been extended beyond coffee shops let out via PQM tenders. From this month (May 2023), all rental coffee shops due for renewal will also need to provide four budget meals and two budget drinks, as a condition for renewal of their tenancy. Operators are encouraged to offer budget meals at prices which are sustainable and competitive to prices of surrounding F&B options. HDB works in close partnership with coffee shop operators to ensure that budget meals are consistently provided and available.

To ease the transition for coffee shop operators and stall holders, HDB will be offering a small rental discount of 5% off the market valuation-based renewal rents for a period of one year from the time of the tenancy being renewed, subject to verification that the new budget meals and drinks have been implemented.

To ensure that residents have access to affordable cooked food options, HDB provides a good supply of coffee shops in every HDB town and estate. HDB has completed 37 new coffee shops in the last five years and continues to build new ones to serve new HDB developments. Another 34 coffee shops are slated for completion in the next five years, to meet the needs of residents.

The Government will continue to partner and work closely with F&B businesses and operators to refine and expand the implementation of budget meals while balancing their commercial interests. These operators can tap on a suite of grants and assistance to enhance their core capabilities and improve productivity (see Annex A).

Issued by: HDB & GovTech
Date: 19 May 2023

[1] Budget meal options include lunch or dinner meals that are priced affordably as compared to the average price of meals sold at nearby eating establishments. These budget meals must be full meals, and not side dishes, snacks, kids meal or half-portion meals.

[2] LifeSG consolidates digital government services and information across multiple government agencies, providing simpler access to services for life's key moments and daily living. To access the BudgetMealGoWhere platform on the LifeSG app: From the homescreen, scroll to the bottom and tap on the BudgetMealGoWhere banner. On the LifeSG webpage: scroll to “More from LifeSG” and click on the BudgetMealGoWhere banner.

[3] Since 1998, HDB no longer sells coffeeshops, and only rents them out. There is a total of 776 coffeeshops in Singapore, of which 374 are rented out by HDB to private operators and 402 are privately-owned.

Annex A

Government support for the F&B sector

The Government provides support for the Food and Beverage (F&B) sector to enhance their core capabilities and improve productivity, such as through the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG).

The PSG helps Singapore companies improve their productivity and automate existing processes through IT solutions and equipment, while the EDG is for Singapore companies starting new projects to upgrade their business, explore new growth, or expand overseas. EDG funds qualifying project costs namely third-party consultancy fees, software and equipment, and internal manpower cost.

Over the years, many F&B businesses, including coffee shops, have tapped the PSG and EDG to adopt digital solutions and automated equipment, enabling them to reap economies of scale, improve efficiency and achieve manpower and cost savings.

F&B businesses can also tap the Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG), introduced last year, to invest in energy-efficient equipment and reduce energy costs. The EEG aims to help businesses in the Food Services, Food Manufacturing and Retail sectors cope with rising energy costs through co-funding support to invest in energy-efficient equipment. It will provide up to 70% support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt pre-approved energy-efficient equipment including LED lighting, cooking hobs and refrigerators.

Annex B

About the Housing & Development Board

The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is Singapore’s public housing authority. We plan and develop Singapore’s housing estates; building homes and transforming towns to create a quality living environment for all. We provide various commercial, recreational, and social amenities in our towns for our residents’ convenience.

Today, more than 1 million flats have been completed in 23 towns and 3 estates across Singapore. HDB flats are home to about 80% of Singapore’s resident population, of which about 90% own their home.

For more information, please visit https://www.hdb.gov.sg/ ↗ (opens in new tab).

About the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech)

The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) is a statutory board formed in October 2016 after the restructuring of the Info-communications Development Authority. Following the formation of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group in May 2017, GovTech is placed under the Prime Minister’s Office as the implementing agency of the Group.

GovTech works with public agencies to develop and deliver secure digital services and applied technology to individuals and businesses in Singapore. GovTech builds key platforms and solutions needed to support Singapore as a Smart Nation. As a leading centre for information communications technology and related engineering such as the Internet of Things, Data Science and Application Development, GovTech also enhances the capabilities of the Singapore Government in these domains.

For more information, please visit or follow us on Facebook.com/GovTechSG ↗ (opens in new tab) and Twitter@GovTechSG ↗ (opens in new tab).