LESS OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE STUDENTS
Outside some schools, posters calling out to potential canteen stall owners can be found. Many such requests are also posted online.
A check by CNA found about 60 advertisements on MOE’s website.
Canteen vendor My NoNNa’s, for instance, was losing 20 per cent of revenue each month.
From operating three stalls during the pandemic, it now only has one.
“So, while COVID was difficult, it was more the post-COVID situation that actually was very much more difficult to manage,” said Ms Geraldine Tan, chief executive officer of My NoNNa’s.
“There are still a lot of e-learning days in schools. So you will find that e-learning days are basically zero revenue days for us. And the costs kept going up still.”
Ms Tan said it was a difficult decision to close some school outlets.
“We refuse to compromise on the quality of the food, the size, the portions. So for us, while the costs keep going up, the yield will keep going down. And that’s not a tenable situation,” she added.
Ms Tan has since moved on to new ventures such as cultivating edible greens and helping persons with special needs.
Five previous schools have asked Ms Tan to return since the start of the year, but she is unlikely to go back.