New BudgetMealGoWhere portal to help public find cheaper meals near them

Members of the public can now locate HDB coffee shops and hawker centres offering budget meals through a new online portal, BudgetMealGoWhere.

The BudgetMealGoWhere website, launched on May 19, is jointly created by Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Government Technology Agency (GovTech).

Users can enter their postal code in the search box and click the ‘GO’ button. The site will list the coffee shops and the available budget meals options, starting with those located within 2 km of the postal code.

Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Development Sim Ann shared during the Committee of Supply debate earlier in March that prices of the budget meal options are benchmarked against economically priced F&B offerings in neighbourhood coffee shops.

Starting from May 2023, coffee shops leased from HDB will have to offer budget meal options upon their tenancy renewal. This extension aims to encourage coffee shop operators to offer affordable food options to residents, while considering their commercial interests.

All rental coffee shops due for renewal will need to provide four budget meals and two budget drinks, as a condition for renewal of their tenancy.

Participating stalls will also be required to display the budget meal decal stickers on their food display signage to help customers identify the budget meals more easily.

As of now, about 40 coffee shops are currently listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere website, with more being progressively added.

To ensure that the public has access to affordable options, another 34 coffee shops are slated for completion in the next five years.