Besides contributing $300,000 and manpower to a community shop, the bank will also leverage its data analytics to guide them on the distribution of food items.
OCBC Bank will contribute S$300,000 and volunteer support for the operation of the first community shop in Singapore – Community Shop @ Mountbatten, set up by Food from the Heart (FFTH). The donation will spread over five years to fund the shop set-up, operations, and food supplies.
We are committed to helping the needy in a strategic manner. This community shop is another good initiative to ensure that food donations match the needs of beneficiaries, and we will consider scaling up across other parts of Singapore if it is successful, said Koh Ching Ching, OCBC Bank’s head of group brand and communications in a statement.
On top of the monetary contributions, the bank’s staff will volunteer at the shop when needed. Community Shop @ Mountbatten will enable close to 5,000 eligible households to obtain preferred food items instead of standard packages from charities and donors that may include items they do not require.
to assist in a year-long exercise to capture data to guide the provision of food items that match the needs of families in need.
In 2017, OCBC Bank started supporting FFTH by providing eggs to 2,500 households monthly. The on-going project has seen the distribution of close to 900,000 eggs to 3,800 households cumulatively.
This will help minimize the stockpiling of unwanted food items and reduce food waste. The households that stand to benefit from this initiative include those from the Mountbatten, Macpherson and Marine Parade constituencies.