Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Budget Meal Options at Hawker Centres

Question:

Mr Foo Cexiang: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will review the requirement to keep food affordable such as by ensuring at least one budget meal option is available per stall at hawker centres managed by the NEA and Town Councils in light of HDB’s policy revisions on 10 January 2026 that coffee shops renewing leases no longer need to offer budget meals.

Answer:

The National Environment Agency (NEA) does not require stalls at hawker centres to provide budget meals. Nevertheless, I understand that the Member’s question seeks to clarify whether there are plans to review the provision of value meals at Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHCs).

At SEHCs, NEA requires operators to propose initiatives to keep food affordable. This is in line with the primary mission of hawker centres to provide affordable food options. So far, SEHC operators have done so by having at least one value meal available at each stall. SEHC operators would have explained the value meal requirement upfront to stallholders before signing tenancy agreements, ensuring that stallholders take into account their costs of operation and pricing options. Value meals are part of the range of food options offered at SEHCs at a variety of price points, to meet the needs of residents. Stallholders are not expected to make a loss from selling value meals.

Each stallholder has the flexibility to propose his or her value meal item, while offering other food options at higher prices. SEHC operators will periodically review value meal prices and have adjusted them based on feedback from stallholders. NEA will continue to require SEHC operators to propose initiatives to ensure food affordability in future tenders.