The pandemic has given rise to countless community initiatives, with free grocery setups to help families in need being the most common.
Recently, one such initiative kickstarted in Woodlands, under the name Store @ Woodlands at Blk 852 Woodlands Street 83.
With Member of Parliament (MP) Mariam Jaafar at its helm and with the help of various contributors, the store successfully opened its doors to residents early this month.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (13 Jul), Ms Mariam shared about the successful soft launch of the community store.
Aware of some of her constituents’ struggle to put food on the table for their families, Ms Mariam discussed the concept with volunteers several months ago.
They were already distributing rations to these families, but she realised that not all the food items may suit recipients’ dietary preferences. As a result, some rations end up going to waste.
To counter the problem, they opened a community store where residents can get what they want when they want it.
The options are wider than the regular food rations too, with items like oyster sauce, curry powder, and kicap manis available.
To ensure everything runs smoothly, an intricate system is in place, starting with special barcodes on each product.
According to Ms Mariam, volunteers, many of whom are seniors, spent nights painstakingly pasting these themselves. The barcodes help them keep track of the inventory, as well as the number of items residents can collect each month.
Residents who qualify for collection get membership cards, which allow them to pick up to 9 free grocery items a month.
While existing items have come from generous partners like Prime Supermarket, House Brand Indian spices, Syed Trading, and Alice Sim & Friends, the store is welcoming donations from the public too.
Come 1 Aug, they’ll be launching a donation drive in conjunction with their official opening.
The items they need are in the poster above, including canned goods, instant meals, and toiletries.
Keen donors can head to Woodlands CC, Store @ Woodlands, or any Residents’ Network (RN) centre to contribute items.
If you’re unable to do so, there’s also an online portal where you can contribute money to help finance the store.
Though still in its nascent stage, Ms Mariam estimates that the initiative will help over 100 families.
Now that they won’t have to worry about groceries, they’ll be able to focus on other aspects of their lives.
If you know of anyone who could benefit from the initiative, direct them here:
Store @ Woodlands
Address: 852 Woodlands Street 83, #01-103, Singapore 730852
Opening hours: Every Monday 7pm-9pm & the last Sunday of every month 1pm-3pm
Nearest MRT: Woodlands Station
Times have been tough for many, even more so with the ongoing pandemic. To know that there are people looking out for others in their community is certainly heartening.
Kudos to Ms Mariam and her team, as well as the partners who’ve helped to make the community store a reality.
We hope it’ll continue to benefit many residents for years to come, with the unwavering support of the local community.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Mariam Jaafar on Facebook.
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