$20m in vouchers to be given out to 400,000 Singaporean households

In the forthcoming months, up to 400,000 Singaporean households will receive vouchers that can be used for food and essential goods and services.

Under the Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers Scheme, each identified household will receive $50 worth of vouchers that can be redeemed at 2,500 neighbourhood shops and hawker centres displaying the CDC Voucher Scheme Decal.

Participating merchants include coffee shops, traditional Chinese medical halls, provision stores, hair salons, family clinics and others.

Eligible households will receive notification letters by the end of July.

To collect the vouchers, the notification letter and one NRIC per household will have to be presented at their designated Community Club. The collection is open from the date noted in their letter till Dec 1.

The vouchers can be used islandwide between June 25 and Dec 31.

Launched today (June 12), the $20 million CDC Vouchers Scheme will help lower-income families with their daily expenses while boosting local heartland businesses, said People's Association in a press release.

At the launch, Mayor of South West District Low Yen Ling said: "As our residents patronise neighbourhood shops and hawkers, we hope it will also build a fresh sense of solidarity and mutual support among Singaporeans."

During his Budget speech in February, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a $20 million grant to CDCs to support families with their daily expenses during this challenging period.

lamminlee@asiaone.com