Found a budget meal at a coffee shop? Add it to this government crowdsourcing website

SINGAPORE: Budget meal recommendations submitted by the public will be gradually listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere portal - a site that allows the public to search for and view available budget meal and drink options at nearby Housing and Development Board (HDB) coffee shops.

It will start with over 240 budget meal and drink options available across 130 coffee shops, said HDB and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) in a joint press release on Tuesday (Jan 16).

Budget meals include lunch or dinner options that are typically priced at S$3.50 and below and drinks priced at S$1.20 and below, HDB and GovTech said.

A “Public Contributions” label will be added above the name of each coffee shop offering the budget meals that have been user-submitted.

This is part of the government's new initiative called the Great Budget Meal Hunt.

The initiative, which is a collaboration between HDB and GovTech, aims to crowdsource recommendations to help residents find budget meals in housing estates more easily.

All Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents aged 18 and above with a Singpass account can register as CrowdTaskSG users and participate in the Great Budget Meal Hunt.

The public has been able to submit recommendations of budget meals on the CrowdTaskSG portal since the soft launch of the initiative in October 2023, said HDB and GovTech.

According to HDB and GovTech, the public has submitted over 1,600 recommendations of budget meals and verified more than 2,500 budget meals across some 310 coffee shops islandwide through the CrowdTaskSG portal.

Besides contributing information on budget meals, the public can also access the latest statistics on the Great Budget Meal Hunt Info-bites webpage, which includes the most recent submission by the public.

The BudgetMealGoWhere portal was launched in May 2023 and has had more than 300,000 unique visitors since its inception, according to HDB and GovTech.

The website started with a list of about 40 HDB rental coffee shops let out via Price-Quality Method tenders, where tenderers were required to include budget meals as part of their tender bids.

Since May last year, all HDB rental coffee shops have had to offer budget meal options upon their tenancy renewal.

HDB will also offer a 5 per cent discount off the 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.

The government will also "continue to work closely with F&B businesses and operators to refine and expand the implementation of budget meals, while also considering their commercial interests", said HDB and GovTech.

According to HDB and GovTech, as of Monday, there are over 250 coffee shops, including those owned by HDB and private owners, listed on BudgetMealGoWhere.

By 2026, budget meals will be offered at all 374 HDB rental coffee shops, the agencies added.

The government also "remains committed to ensuring that residents have access to affordable cooked food options within the heartlands", said HDB and GovTech.

To achieve this objective, HDB provides a good supply of coffee shops in every HDB town and estate, it added.

"Over the past five years, HDB has completed 31 new coffee shops, including 5 coffee shops in 4 towns completed last year.

"Another 21 coffee shops are slated for completion in the next five years, in tandem with the completion of new BTO developments to meet residents’ needs," said HDB and GovTech.

The government also welcomes other coffee shop operators in HDB estates to participate voluntarily in the budget meal initiative, the press release said.