Restaurants In Singapore Remain Open During Lockdown To Share Free Meals

JAKARTA - The lockdown policy in Singapore has forced food shops to close. However, a young Beng Who Cook owner, Jason Chua, chose to keep his shop open to provide free food to people in need.

The action for free food has been carried out by the 28-year-old man since last April. Chua was inspired to distribute food after hearing his friend's experience of helping a hungry homeless person by buying food.

Even though he realized the impact of the pandemic on his business, Chua did not back down. He can distribute about 50-60 free meals a day through the Beng Who Cares foundation co-run with his friend Sean Hung.

"Yes, we are losing money. We haven't received a salary for several months, but we are still doing 10 to 25 orders per day to get the wheels of our business going, so we can still defend ourselves during this period," said Chua.

For those who need free food, especially those on low incomes, Chua calls on him to contact him directly via messages from social media Beng Who Cooks, either via Instagram or Facebook. This is to make it easier for Chua to deliver food.

Even so, Chua's Beng Who Cooks has turned down benefactors who wish to make donations to them. However, some of them insisted on making donations in the form of cash, oil or rice.

"Strangely, when I get the response is overwhelming from people. In fact, it motivates me. I get a lot of compliments, and that praise becomes the fuel for doing what I really love," he said.