Former school cafeteria operator Tan Soo Mei has co-founded a Singapore startup called Whizmeal and they’re a godsend to parents concerned about their children’s health and eating habits (most parents, then).
Their invention: an online meal planning and ordering platform that not just allows parents to decide what their children eat during the recess period, but also provide canteen hawkers — especially those who follow the guidelines set by the Health Promotion Board (HPB).
Parents will visit the website to pick meals — the popular ones maintain throughout the year as new ones are introduced every once in awhile — for their kids and pay for them, and the money goes straight to the hawkers, who will then prepare the food. Meals served to the children are pre-packed and labelled, saving time that would otherwise be spent on queuing and avoiding food wastage. Whizmeal also plans to work closely with cafeteria stall owners to make sure best kitchen practices are observed and they’re always thinking of making healthy food.
Right now Whizmeal is undergoing a pilot program with Punggol Green Primary School. 80 percent of the school’s intitution and parents are participating in the program, which has been running for over a year.
Said Tan, Whizmeal aims to cut the obesity rate among children by half in 2022 and hopes to expand to at least 20 schools in the next five years.
Watch the video for a better idea of how Whizmeal works.
