Elderly people seen taking home others' leftovers at hawker centres: 'They just don't want to waste food'

Several elderly people have been seen packing up leftover food at hawker centres, following a tip-off from a diner who spotted an elderly man taking food left behind on tables at Our Tampines Hub hawker centre.

A concerned resident had alerted Shin Min Daily News after spotting an elderly man packing up leftover food at Our Tampines Hub hawker centre last month.

The man, who appeared to be in his 60s or 70s, was also seen picking up other diners' leftovers on previous occasions.

The resident, a 71-year-old retiree named Zheng (transliteration), told the Chinese daily on Sunday (Oct 25), that the man often visits the hawker centre outside peak dining hours.

According to Zheng, the man was neatly dressed and didn't seem like someone living in poverty.

He asked the man why he was doing this, and the man only said that he didn't want to waste food and planned to take it home for dinner.

"For some older people, it might just be that they don't want to waste food, so they pick up other people's leftovers to eat at home, but I'm still worried about hygiene," said Zheng.

A female cleaning attendant at the hawker centre said she had seen another elderly man engaging in the same practice for years.

This other elderly man, she pointed out, would often pay for his own food and drinks and appeared well put together. She assumed that it was unlikely that his actions were driven by financial constraints.

Happens at other hawker centres too

The incident at Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre does not appear to be an isolated case, with elderly people reportedly seen collecting diners' leftovers at other hawker centres as well.

A cleaning attendant at People's Park Food Centre in Chinatown said she had spotted at least two elderly men occasionally collecting leftover food from tray return stations, according to Shin Min Daily News.

She said she tried to stop them, reminding them that collecting leftovers from tray return points was unhygienic, and had even offered to buy them food instead.

"They didn't want me to buy them food either," she shared.

"Most of them are mild-mannered and don't get into conflicts with others, but one of them had a strong urine smell and tended to keep to himself."

Hawkers target $1m to feed those in need

Earlier this year, a group of hawkers took part in the Community Meals Project - an initiative by fundraising platform Give.Asia. The fundraiser aims to raise $1m to help participating hawkers and non-profit organisations provide free, hot meals to those in need.

Community Meals Project has since raised over $300,000 which, according to Give.Asia, can provide over 100,000 meals.

Our Tampines Hub, Boon Lay Hawker and Dignity Kitchen are among the participating hawker centres and food courts.

According to Give.Asia, donations received in May were used to provide 13,900 free meals islandwide.

swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com

有食客举报称，在淡滨尼天地小贩中心，一名老人看到他从桌子上拿走剩下的食物，随后有多名老年人被目击到在小贩中心打包剩饭剩菜。

上个月，一位热心居民在淡滨尼天地小贩中心看到一位老人打包剩饭剩菜，随后向《新​​明日报》报案。

这名男子看起来有六七十岁，此前也曾被目击到捡拾其他食客的剩菜剩饭。

这位名叫郑（音译）的71岁退休居民周日（10月25日）告诉中文日报，这名男子经常在用餐高峰期之外光顾小贩中心。

据郑先生说，这名男子衣着整洁，看起来不像生活贫困的人。

他问那人为什么要这样做，那人只说他不想浪费食物，打算带回家当晚餐。

郑先生说：“对一些老年人来说，可能只是因为他们不想浪费食物，所以会拿别人剩下的饭菜回家吃，但我仍然担心卫生问题。”

小贩中心的一名女清洁工说，她多年来一直看到另一位老人从事同样的活动。

她指出，另一位老人经常自己付饭钱，而且看起来很精神。她认为他的行为不太可能是出于经济拮据。

其他小贩中心也发生过类似情况。

淡滨尼天地小贩中心发生的这起事件似乎并非孤立事件，据报道，在其他小贩中心也曾看到老年人捡拾食客剩饭剩菜。

据《新明日报》报道，牛车水人民公园美食中心的一名清洁工表示，她偶尔会看到至少两名老年男子从餐盘回收处取走剩饭剩菜。

她说她曾试图阻止他们，提醒他们从餐盘回收点收集剩菜剩饭是不卫生的，甚至还提出要给他们买食物代替。

“他们也不想让我给他们买吃的，”她说道。

“他们大多数性格温和，不会与他人发生冲突，但其中一人身上有很重的尿骚味，而且比较孤僻。”

小贩们的目标是筹集100万美元，为有需要的人提供食物。

今年早些时候，一群小贩参与了由筹款平台Give.Asia发起的“社区餐食计划”。该筹款活动旨在筹集100万新元，以帮助参与的小贩和非营利组织为有需要的人提供免费的热餐。

社区餐食项目至今已筹集超过 30 万美元，据 Give.Asia 称，这笔钱可以提供超过 10 万份餐食。

我们的淡滨尼中心、文礼小贩中心和尊严厨房等都是参与活动的熟食中心和美食广场。

据 Give.Asia 称，5 月份收到的捐款用于在全岛范围内提供 13,900 份免费餐食。

swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com