- About 330 coffee shops in HDB estates will offer budget meals islandwide by end July 2024, including about 180 coffee shops under chain operators that will also accept CDC vouchers

- HDB is on track to have all rental HDB coffee shops offer budget meals by 2026

More coffee shops in the heartlands will soon offer budget meals to provide affordable food options for residents. Another 180 coffee shops under nine private chain operators will provide budget meals, marking an expansion of the budget meal initiative beyond rental HDB coffee shops. In total, about 330 coffee shops¹ in the heartlands will provide budget meals to meet the needs of residents.

Updates on the budget meal initiative

Rental HDB coffee shops

2 The Ministry of National Development (MND) and Housing & Development Board (HDB) announced the budget meal initiative in March 2023 to provide Singaporeans with more affordable food options. Under the initiative, all rental HDB coffee shops that are renewing their tenancies from May 2023 will be required to offer at least four budget meals and two budget drink options². Budget meals include lunch or dinner options that are typically priced at $3.50 and below, and drinks priced at $1.20 and below.

3 To date, there are about 150 rental HDB coffee shops islandwide offering over 1,000 budget meals and drinks. HDB is on track to have all 374 rental HDB coffee shops offer budget meals by 2026.

Nine private coffee shop chains step up to offer budget meals in support of the community

4 In a show of solidarity and support for the community, nine private coffeeshop chains, namely Badaling, Broadway, De Tian, Chang Cheng, FoodFare Kopitiam, Kimly, Kim San Leng, Koufu, and Select are partnering the five Community Development Councils (CDC), HDB and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) to offer budget meals as well as accept CDC Vouchers in about 180 coffee shops, starting progressively from 1 July 2024. These comprise 60 rental HDB coffeeshops that will now voluntarily offer budget meals ahead of their lease renewal as well as 120 privately owned coffee shops, which form close to 30 per cent of the privately owned coffee shops in HDB estates.

5 These stalls will be progressively listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere (go.gov.sg/budgetmeal) portal, a collaboration between HDB and GovTech, that allows users to search for the nearest coffee shop with budget meal options. Since its launch, the BudgetMealGoWhere portal has recorded more than 400,000 unique visitors.

6 HDB and EnterpriseSG will continue to engage other operators of privately-owned HDB coffee shops to encourage them to provide budget meal options.

7 In addition, since December 2023, privately-owned HDB coffee shops that are sold on the open market are required to offer budget meals. The new operator taking over the premise will be required to provide at least two budget meals and two budget drinks within 1 month from the resale completion date. HDB will continue to engage operators of privately-owned HDB coffee shops on their affordable food options, while considering their business sustainability.

8 The public can identify stalls serving budget meals by looking out for a circular decal on display at the stalls. Stalls in privately-owned HDB coffee shops that have voluntarily committed to provide budget meals will display the community budget meal decal in red and blue.

9 The Government will continue to engage and work closely with F&B businesses and operators to ensure that residents in the heartlands continue to have access to a variety of affordable meal options within their neighbourhood.

Supporting Heartland Digitalisation and Revitalisation

10 These efforts complement the work of the Heartland Digitalisation and Revitalisation Committee (HDRC), co-chaired by Senior Minister of State for National Development Ms Sim Ann and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Ms Low Yen Ling. Through the work of the HDRC, HDB, EnterpriseSG and other Government agencies and associations have been working together to support the heartland merchants in digitalisation and to revitalise heartland spaces.

¹ There is a total of 776 HDB coffee shops in Singapore, of which 374 are rented out by HDB and 402 are privately-owned.

² HDB will offer a rental discount of 5 per cent 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.

More Coffee Shops to Offer Budget Meals to Boost Affordable Food Options