At This Pop Up Eatery, You Can Pay Whatever You Want For Good Food

It’s 12:00 p.m. and you’re as usual famished.

You look all around you at the same few stalls. Hokkien Mee, Cai Png, laksa? You’ve eaten that a million times.

Don’t you wish there is something new and exciting to refresh your taste buds again? Look no further because I’m about to introduce some good food for you.

Recess Time

That brings back memories.

Recess Time is a pop-up lunch party located in Waterloo Street.

It is part of a programme at Practice Tuckshop, a creative space run by homegrown theatre company The Theatre Practice.

What’s even more special about it, is that its a pay-as-you-wish three-course lunch prepared by guest chefs and home cooks.

That’s right. You decide what you pay for.

Sounds too good to be true?

Well.

Here’s The Catch

The meal is built upon fruits and vegetables discarded by retailers.

Discarded produce? Where do they come from? Well, I’m sure many of us including me and you are guilty of picking the best-looking tomatoes and cabbages in the supermarket.

This often leaves the blemished-looking ones behind that is rejected by shoppers. At the end of the day, this rejected produce will be thrown out by retailers.

Rejected Produce Aren’t Inedible

I know, if something looks iffy, it means you shouldn’t put it into your stomach.

But look at the freegan culture in Singapore:

And this stall which has many people buying from them:

If ugly fruits and vegetables aren’t meant to be sold, they’ll be shut down faster than you can say, mata lai liao!

Massive Food Waste in S’pore

Furthermore, according to NEA (National Environment Agency), there were a total of 763100 tonnes of food waste disposed of and only 17% of them are recycled.

This means that these fruits and vegetables are contributing every day to the food wastage situation in Singapore, simply because it doesn’t look as nice as the others.

Isn’t that such a waste?

Here are two wise sentences:

1. People are starving in Africa and yet we’re throwing away food.
2. For every sixty seconds passed in Africa, a minute has gone by.

Here is where Recess Time steps in.

Together with the volunteer group SG Food Rescue, they serve to salvage these produce and turn them into beautiful edible creations.

I mean, just look at this. Doesn’t it look appetising?

It is very commendable of them to step up and help reduce food wastage in Singapore.

Through this pop-up, it serves as a reminder to us that we should be more conscious of our habits and pick up these produce in the supermarket, even if it is not the best-looking ones.

By gaining a new perspective on discarded produce, we can all play our part in reducing food wastage.

Who says blemished-looking produce can’t look beautiful too?

Check out the rest of the pop-up dates and time here.