• Inaugural F-I-T Hackathon saw more than 70 applications and top 10 teams pitching their ideas to an industry panel after two days of mentorship
• This year saw a record number of more than 895,000 textbooks collected from the community; more than 2,100 volunteers were involved in collecting, sorting and distributing textbooks over the past six weeks.
• About 25,000 beneficiaries under the priority scheme were invited to collect textbooks from 11 December 2021 before access is given to the public from 12 to 15 December 2021

SINGAPORE, 11 December 2021 – NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) today held their inaugural Food-Innovation-Technology (FIT) Hackathon where 10 teams pitched their ideas to an industry panel including ideas for future editions of FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project. This also coincided with the launch of the distribution drive for this signature community sharing initiative, FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project. The Hackathon event was graced by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, Second Minister for Health & Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Advisor to Tampines GROs. 

The FIT Hackathon was conceptualised as an extension of FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project to encourage students to propose innovative ideas for a sustainable Singapore. More than 70 applications were received and 10 shortlisted teams were brought together to develop their proposals with guidance from a panel of industry experts over the past two days. The teams comprised students from secondary schools (40%) and tertiary institutions (60%). Of which, eight teams were tasked to explore solutions that tackle issues around reducing waste and carbon emissions while the remaining two teams focused on how to better encourage community sharing through the Share-A-Textbook Project. The top winning team will receive a cash prize of S$10,000. More information on the Hackathon can be found via the link: www.fpgfithack.com.sg.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, Group CEO, FairPrice Group, said, “Sustainability is a core focus at FairPrice. Over the years, we have been actively engaging and collaborating with the community to address the issues of climate change.  The inaugural FIT Hackathon with a focus on carbon reduction seeks to nurture and inspire our youth to take an active role towards addressing various environmental challenges. I am confident the energy and creativity of the teams will further ignite the passion among their peers and society to take more affirmative actions in protecting our environment.”

Share-A-Textbook Distribution Period
This year’s distribution window has been extended from two days in previous years to five days to facilitate the collection of books in adherence to Covid-19 safe management measures. Selected by social service organisations and Community Development Councils, about 25,000 beneficiaries aged seven to 16 years old were given priority today to collect textbooks before access is given to the general public from 12 to 15 December 2021.

Mr Seah added, “The current endemic situation has hampered our community outreach efforts, but support for the Share-A-Textbook project remains very strong. Through the dedication and support of the community, volunteers, and partners, we have collected over 895,000 textbooks; this is the highest number of books ever collected representing 80 percent more compared to last year. This will in turn benefit more families.”

This year, the project received a 39-year record number of more than 895,000 textbooks collected. More than 2,100 volunteers, from community partners and schools, along with FairPrice staff and members of the general public, participated in the collecting, sorting and organising of textbooks for the FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project over the past six weeks. This year the project saw the highest number of volunteers since it was introduced 39 years ago.  

Strict safety measures were implemented to ensure the safety of the public and volunteers amid Covid-19. In addition to the smaller teams to facilitate the sorting of textbooks, all volunteers were also provided with care packs consisting of face masks, wet wipes, disposable gloves and hand sanitiser.

The textbooks collection area is divided into two zones with a limitation on the total number of people allowed into each zone at any given time. Beneficiaries and members of the public who are intending to head down for collection are required to pre-book their preferred collection time slots using forms that were previously released. A total of 10 hourly collection time slots are available each day, and each booking limits a total of two pax for collection of textbooks. High-touch surfaces within the collection zones will be sanitised after the end of each session.

The textbook distribution exercise will be open only to the public who have pre-booked their time slots, between 9.00am to 7.00pm from 12 to 15 December 2021 at Community Auditorium, Level 3 @ Our Tampines Hub. More information on the project can be found at:
www.fairpricegroup.com.sg/do-good/faqs/#share-a-textbook.

Note: Public collection time slots have since been fully subscribed due to overwhelming response. Subsequent requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis to better assist the needs of the community. The public may email fptextbook@fairprice.com.sg to submit their requests for available slots.

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