S1E79: Are central kitchen meals coming to every Singapore school?

Jan 22, 2026

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There has been a buffet of discussion as pre-packed food for students have been in the spotlight recently.

Some schools have had to turn to prepared meals from centralised kitchens because of shrinking student numbers and a lack of canteen stallholders.

But this has not been to everyone’s taste.

Bento boxes from airline caterer SATS made the news after pictures of unappetising servings at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) surfaced online in early January.

It prompted a flurry of discussion both on and offline, as everyone weighed in with their thoughts from the colour of the boxes – turquoise – to the dishes served to what pre-packed meals takes away from the recess experience.

The media was later invited to HCI to taste the food and speak to students, who gave reviews about the SATS pre-packed meals. The school’s principal said the menus will be refined, and SATS will relook recipes and food presentation.

Then on Jan 14, concerns emerged over food safety after 60 primary school pupils came down with suspected food poisoning after consuming food prepared by Gourmetz, the school’s caterer.

In this week’s episode of The Usual Place, I chat with two canteen stall operators, Ms Nurkusmawati Kasim, who runs a Western food stall in a primary school, and Ms Grace Lim, who operates a snack stall in a primary and secondary school, about their experience providing meals for students.

Jalan Besar GRC MP Shawn Loh, who is the group managing director of food conglomerate Commonwealth Capital Group, joins us to discuss whether there are alternatives to the central kitchen model.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:55 Were the reactions to Hwa Chong Institution bento boxes overblown?

6:17 Why Grace and Wati chose to work in school canteens

9:22 Crafting menus for students

11:54 Healthy meals affects operating cost

14:43 Can you make money as a canteen stall vendor?

18:25 I just wanted to kill time when my son’s at school: Wati

20:47 Why central kitchens work for schools

22:13 Why Shawn champions a model where prepped ingredients are cooked on-site

25:35 Wati’s experience as a former air stewardess is handy when feeding masses

27:24 Do we romanticise recess time?

32:24 Cafeteria model offers control over nutritional value of food