Residents flock to Bishan marketplace for near-expiry and imperfect food at discounted prices

SINGAPORE – Grocery shopping was a little cheaper for Bishan resident Angie Khoo on Nov 7, as she loaded her bags with over 10kg of frozen pork chops, ribs and chicken which were going at 50% off.

Khoo, 53, knew she would get a good deal at the Project Zero Waste Marketplace at Bishan Community Club.

The ground-up initiative, started in 2023, offers surplus goods and near-expiry food items, or those with imperfect packaging, at discounted prices.

In previous visits, she bought fruits like blueberries and raspberries at about half the retail price.

The market, held two to three times a year, is now in its eighth edition. It drew hundreds of residents like Khoo on Nov 7.

“People talk about the cost of living. If you know where to look, you can actually find a lot of other (affordable) stuff out there,” said Khoo, the general manager of a motor company.

According to the Department of Statistics, the overall price increase for all households in the first half of 2026 was 1.7 per cent year on year, an acceleration from the 0.9 per cent pace in the second half of 2025.

Over 20 vendors ranging from local vegetable farmers to large-scale food distributors brought their wares to the community club. Some residents came ready to fill empty trolleys to the brim.

Most items were slashed to 50% to 70% of their usual prices.

For example, cans of baked beans were going for $1 each, while packs of steamed buns were sold for $2. One fruit stall offered a “buffet”, where customers could fill up a box with any variety of fruit they liked for $8.90.

The marketplace has its origins in a food rescue project by a group of community volunteers who were passionate about sustainability, said Sylvia Loh, chairperson of Bishan East - Sin Ming Green Action Committee.

Since 2022, the team has been gathering donations of surplus or near-expiry food from vendors and partner organisations and distributing them for free to residents every month.

But they later started the marketplace as a way to also support the vendors in recovering part of their costs and creating awareness of their products, said Loh.

The marketplace steadily grew in popularity with vendors and members of the public, with some travelling from Woodlands or Bedok to shop.

“Especially with the rising cost of living, some might find it is a good time to stock up for their daily necessities or festive events,” said Loh.

Loh said the marketplace is a “brainchild” of community volunteers, who contact various vendors to bring them onboard.

Frozen food distributor CS Tay has set up shop at the marketplace since 2025. They brought items like chicken midwings, which will expire in less than six months.

The short expiry date would not be accepted by supermarkets.

Its head of sales Karen Tan said they mostly clear their stocks at the marketplace. They also see it as charity, by helping lower-income families buy the products at an affordable price.

Some items that food distributor Lim Siang Huat put up for sale, like ready-to-cook paste and instant noodles, were going for even lower than cost price - just to prevent it from being wasted.

“One customer actually bought a carton of noodles. He tried it the last time (at the previous marketplace) and liked it a lot,” said the company’s head of trade marketing Lissa Goh.

In a Parliamentary debate in September about food resilience, MPs had raised ideas to tackle food waste in Singapore, amid rising food prices caused by hotter weather and Middle East conflicts.

Over at Queenstown, about 100 volunteers collected donated items from drop-off points on Nov 7 and handed them to a charity, Hao Ren Hao Shi, to distribute to nearly 500 residents in need.

It was part of their annual food donation drive on Nov 7.

The items were collated over two weeks by 10 community partners, 10 Residents’ Networks and six corporate partners, as part of efforts to reduce food waste and support residents in need.