Media Release
(From left) Mr Dennis Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Prudential Singapore, Mdm Rahayu Buang, CEO, KidSTART Singapore, Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Social and Family Development join about 160 KidSTART parents and children for a picnic at Gardens by the Bay, organised by Prudential Singapore and KidSTART Singapore to enjoy bonding time, healthy food, and games.
On 21 October 2023, 160 KidSTART parents and children convened at Gardens by the Bay’s Supertree Grove Lawn to enjoy bonding time, healthy food, and games, at the “What’s for Lunch” picnic co-hosted by Prudential Singapore (“Prudential”) and KidSTART Singapore (“KidSTART”). Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Social and Family Development, Mr Dennis Tan, Chief Executive Officer at Prudential Singapore, and Mdm Rahayu Buang, CEO at KidSTART Singapore, attended the event.
“What’s for Lunch?” is part of Healthy with KidSTART, an early childhood nutrition programme launched in 2020 to help low-income families with children aged six and below adopt healthy eating habits from young. This year (2023), over 2,000 families on the programme have been receiving packs of fresh produce including vegetables and fruits, as well as resources on healthy eating. Among these resources is access to a video cooking series, “What's for Lunch?”, where families are taught how to prepare simple, healthy, and affordable meals (for more information on “What’s for Lunch?” and Healthy with KidSTART, please refer to the Annex on page 3).
Cultivating healthy eating habits from a young age ensures children receive the essential nutrients they need to grow and to have a good a start in life. It is important to engage parents since family meals play such a vital role in shaping children's eating habits. Eating healthy is essential for our overall health and well-being, and it is a key part of Singapore's Healthier SG strategy to help Singaporeans take steps towards better health.
At the picnic, the KidSTART families enjoyed healthy food such as fruit juice, gimbap (Korean seaweed rice rolls), and fruit popsicles. The families also engaged in activities such as frisbee designing and a relay competition. The children had a fun time playing on bouncy castles, capturing memories in a photo booth, and checking out a game booth put up by the Health Promotion Board (HPB). Each family also received a complimentary picnic basket including a picnic mat, an apron, muffins, and tickets to the Flower Dome.
Quotes
Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Social and Family Development, said: “As a parent, I know that meal preparation for families is a thoughtful process. Hence, I am delighted that the “What’s for Lunch?” series launched by Prudential Singapore and KidSTART Singapore shares recipes and tips in preparing simple and nutritious meals for our loved ones. Preparing simple recipes with our children can be valuable bonding time too! In this year of Celebrating Social Service Partners, we want to recognise partners like Prudential who have championed strong initiatives that support our vision to give every child a good start in life. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Prudential Singapore for working with KidSTART Singapore on this series, to give children a good start by helping them have a nutritious start. I hope more families now know how to eat healthily through simple and accessible ways.”
Mr Dennis Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Prudential Singapore, said: “It’s the second year we’re running “What’s for Lunch” 2023 and I’m glad to hear from the families about how they have enjoyed the series. We’ve continued to bring them new, tasty and nutritious recipes to try out at home and provided them with fresh produce to make it easy. Thanks to our strong partnership with KidSTART Singapore and the families, we’re making commendable progress in creating a healthier and stronger Singapore. By eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we can spend more time with our loved ones and live fulfilling lives.”
Mdm Rahayu Buang, Chief Executive Officer, KidSTART Singapore, said: “I would like to thank Prudential Singapore for their commitment and support since we launched the Healthy with KidSTART programme in 2020! It’s great to see the impact that it has made on supporting KidSTART families to cook and eat healthier. I am also heartened to see how it has grown from supporting 120 families in 2020 to more than 2000 families this year. Families have shared that they are now motivated to cook healthily for their children and know how to set up balanced meals for them. Eating healthily is so important for a child to have a good start in life.”
Quote from Beneficiary 1 – Ms Joey Tan Qiao En
Joey has a daughter, Arathena, aged 19 months, who has been with KidSTART for 1 year.
Joey Tan, Healthy with KidSTART beneficiary, said: “Through the What’s for Lunch series we get to learn different recipes to cook for the family. We are happy as Arathena gets healthy meals at school and during the weekends at home. We also learnt through the series how to involve children during meal preparation as we saw how Huda (host of the video cooking series) interacted with her son. After watching her, we are now more confident in involving and engaging Arathena while preparing meals. We are also happy to receive the fresh food produce. Arathena loves the fresh fruits!”
ANNEX
About Healthy with KidSTART
Healthy with KidSTART is an early childhood nutrition programme, and a collaboration between KidSTART Singapore (“KidSTART”) and Prudential Singapore that was launched in 2020. It is aimed at promoting healthy eating habits among children aged 0-6 years old, as good nutrition during this stage is crucial to their development.
Through the programme, families receive monthly deliveries of fresh vegetables and fruits and access to curated health education resources. This includes a cooking show launched in 2022 called “What’s for Lunch?” that teaches the families how to make healthy meals from the items they receive every month using simple and affordable recipes.
In the 2023 season, three new cooking episodes featured Chef Aaron Wong, a 2018 MasterChef Singapore Finalist and owner of multiple food establishments, and Host Huda Ali. In the episodes, Huda and her four-year-old son Luke Qalish share tips on how cooking can be a bonding activity for parents and children, as well as a learning experience for children to develop literacy and numeracy skills and gain knowledge of fruits and vegetables.
The fresh produce selections sent to families each month are integrated with the recipes taught on the show. This allows them to make some of the dishes themselves after each episode is broadcasted. Recipes taught on the show include ABC Egg Drop Soup, Sesame Chicken, Steamed Kailan with Carrots and Mushrooms and more.
