https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/north-view-primary-school-gastroenteritis-food-poisoning-5868191

147 North View Primary School students affected by gastroenteritis symptoms since Jan 13; most have recovered

This is the second major gastroenteritis incident to hit a primary school over the past week, after a separate outbreak at River Valley Primary School.

I agree with @rinsider that there are multiple issues surfacing here:

• the sustainability of the old canteen operator system
• the quality (and now safety) of what the central kitchens are supplying
• whether people (especially students) are encouraged to speak up within the school system, which is a broader issue

All of these are worth talking about!

Edited to add: A friend went for what seemed like a bento box tasting session yesterday (HCI open house), and her reviews weren’t bad. But we both agreed on this:

Min for Education Desmond Lee gives some reassurance that central kitchens are an alternative at the moment for schools that are exploring them.

@thebottomsupblog yea I agree the dearth of canteen vendors is real! My partner used to work part-time for a certain primary school tuckshop vendor in the Serangoon area and he was only paid $6/hr. Razor thin profit margins and no income during holidays. Their hours may be viewed as short, but considering they’re operating in a school environment, the stall owner would bring back the equivalent of an office worker’s pay at most. But at least they could offer the option of fried food then, like chicken nuggets or hot dogs. Think these have since been phased out.

On the other hand, I know of someone else who operated in different pri schools as an independent vendor. He pooled his profits and savings after less than 5 years and eventually opened a hawker stall at Circuit Road market. I guess to confine your operations to just one school makes it hard to see turnarounds.

I just want to address the issue of not enough canteen stall operators and the low earnings. I know someone who ran a canteen stall in a sec school for several years, but recently retired. It’s hard to make ends meet like that unless they charge a lot (which they can’t because schools cap the prices). There are also restrictions on what they can sell (not too much fried food or “unhealthy” foods, mandatory greens etc which many kids don’t eat, etc). So if canteen food is to be “improved” to be more attractive, not only will prices have to go up, they probably can’t anyway because of the restrictions.

As I said before, if canteen stalls have to close, kids should just be given a choice - catered food or bring your own. My kids were in overseas schools without canteens for years - I just cooked extra the night before (so they got the same food for lunch as the previous dinner) or they got sandwiches. And I’m not a great cook. They didn’t complain, and survived. The school did provide fridges and microwave ovens which I’m sure could be done in SG if enough kids bring their own food.

The use of wholegrain rice itself is already a healthier choice. We should avoid focusing on a single meal in isolation and drawing conclusions from it. It would be more constructive to review the meals over an entire week to get a fair and accurate picture.

There are only so many practical ways to prepare balanced, healthier meals at scale, so some realism is needed. For those who prefer freshly cooked canteen food, the live canteen option remains available. Bento meals are ultimately meant for convenience.

Let’s also remember to be thankful for each meal.

I’m not sure if these discussions have died down already, but just sharing this link that my gf @rinsider sent me:

https://www.stomp.sg/trending-now/hwa-chong-warns-students-against-sharing-bento-meal-photos-after-backlash-we-know-what

This popped up in my socmedia feed. An HCI student claims the “Discipline Records” link (or demerit points reference) has been erased from their Student Services portal “so that they can’t screenshot and show it to the media”. Last image is apparently from an HCI parents’ group.

I can’t independently verify this (it’s socmedia afterall), but it’s rather worrying when students have to resort to platforms such as Reddit to air their feedback because the school didn’t address their raised concerns regarding the food until it went viral. And thereafter they get subjected to possible penalties.

It started about the food quality, but has now boiled over to the suppression of young voices within an established educational institution, which doesn’t seem to have kept up with the times!

@thebottomsupblog yea I agree the dearth of canteen vendors is real! My partner used to work part-time for a certain primary school tuckshop vendor in the Serangoon area and he was only paid $6/hr. Razor thin profit margins and no income during holidays. Their hours may be viewed as short, but considering they’re operating in a school environment, the stall owner would bring back the equivalent of an office worker’s pay at most. But at least they could offer the option of fried food then, like chicken nuggets or hot dogs. Think these have since been phased out.

On the other hand, I know of someone else who operated in different pri schools as an independent vendor. He pooled his profits and savings after less than 5 years and eventually opened a hawker stall at Circuit Road market. I guess to confine your operations to just one school makes it hard to see turnarounds.

Actually, remember those catered food scares which resulted in food poisoning cases at preschool centres in 2025? Or the widely hyped Total Defence meals?

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/from-pre-school-food-to-total-defence-meals-a-look-at-singapores-2025-gastroenteritis-outbreaks

“In February, 187 cases of gastroenteritis were reported following the consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) meals distributed during a Total Defence Day exercise. The meals were prepared by food solutions provider SATS.”

SATS!!!

Food for thought! Hope I don’t get a tummyache first!

https://www.stomp.sg/trending-now/hwa-chong-warns-students-against-sharing-bento-meal-photos-after-backlash-we-know-what

"Another Secondary 2 student said the $4.80 premium meals taste good, unlike the regular meals which cost $3.60 and have smaller portions of meat.

“The old cai fan stall sold the same quality food at $3 to $4,” he said, referring to the economy rice stall."

===================

Regarding the central kitchen model:

Tech glitches, missing meals: Teething issues emerge as some schools shift to central kitchen model

CNA spoke to students and parents from five schools and found that the most serious complaints centred on pre-ordering systems that malfunctioned.

One primary school student only received his meal near the end of recess on the first day of school.
…

Students CNA spoke to expressed divided opinions on the pre-prepared meals. While some said they enjoyed the dishes, others found the food less appealing than traditional canteen offerings.

…

But parents were more critical, particularly around portion sizes and the lack of variety.

I think I would still prefer the “human” experience of going around the canteen to see what I feel like having, and putting up with the queue.

Also looks like the real issue is canteen vendor shortage, which I didn’t read about until this blew up:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/canteen-vendor-shortage-13-spore-schools-to-adopt-central-kitchen-model-in-january-2026

@thebottomsupblog the food doesn’t look too appetizing from the photos not too sure about the taste. Children being children even if the food is supposed to be healthier, appearance and taste matters most. Therefore, if it isn’t yummy will end up in the trash.

I don’t think they look too great, but seriously, if they are hungry, they’ll eat! Or they can pack their own sandwiches to bring to school. I have little sympathy for picky eaters.

I’m not sure if any parent would want their child to eat that, whether they are from a “prestigious” or neighbourhood school.

Incentives or rebates should be given to independent canteen vendors instead of contracts given to profit-driven caterers with centralized kitchens.