New scheme to get public to hunt for cheap coffee shop meals

Great Budget Meal Hunt lets people submit details of $3-$3.50 meals to govt portal

- Jean lau

A new programme to help Singaporeans find and share details of cheap coffee shop eats has garnered more than 200 recommendations since its launch in October.

Senior Minister of State for National Development and Foreign Affairs Sim Ann told Parliament on Tuesday that the Government rolled out the pilot scheme to increase the availability of affordable food options in Housing Board estates, especially for those who need them.

The campaign, called the Great Budget Meal Hunt, allows people to submit information about meals priced between $3 and $3.50 to CrowdTaskSG, government crowdsourcing Web portal. Users can also verify the accuracy of exaisting submissions, with all contributors earning virtual coins that can be redeemed for cash rewards.

All Singpass account holders above the age of 18 can participate in the Great Budget Meal Hunt. Submissions should be full meals and not side dishes, snacks, children's meals or half-portion meals.

Ms Sim said that over the past 11/2 weeks, the Government had received 245 recommendations for affordable meals and 319 verifications across 91 coffee shops through the portal.

"In the spirit of partnering Singaporeans under ForwardSG, we soft-launched an effort last month to crowdsource the public's recommendations and verification of budget meals in coffee shops across the island," she added, referring to the nationwide engagement exercise that culminated in a report released in end-October.

Ms Sim was speaking during a motion put forth by Workers' Party MPs Pritam Singh and Louis Chua, calling on the Government to review its policies to lower the cost-of-living pressures on Singaporeans and their families.