With Covid-19 exacerbating food insecurity, DBS and The Food Bank Singapore are launching a virtual food banking app to enhance support for individuals and families affected by the crisis.

“DBS loan support enables us to look to the future with confidence. To focus on where we will go versus where we have been. To reinvest in our people and look to grow. To evolve and adapt to new norms - investing in new growth areas namely therapeutic horticulture, e-education and e-commerce “ – Mr Samuell Ang (left), chief executive officer, Edible Garden City

Meet Satish Senthil Kumar (left) our Assistant Workplace Manager, and Thiru Ramamorthy (right), Cleaning Team Lead from Chye Thiam Maintenance. They are among our deeply-valued essential frontline staff who keep our office environment clean and safe during this Covid-19 outbreak. Satish ensures that essential facilities are running smoothly on a daily basis. Thiru usually supervises the cleaning operations, but now volunteers to take on more cleaning work so older workers are at less risk of being exposed to the virus!

"Everything I do is with passion. Without passion, I don’t think I will serve the community today. My passion is with the elderly. When I do community care, I can talk to the elderly. I really feel fulfilled and contented and every day I go home with a smile on my face." Ms Lily Teh, Homage Care Specialist who helps with Covid-19 swab tests.

“As a social enterprise, not many lenders make the effort to understand what we do, our business model, and the impact we have on the community. At the onset of the virus outbreak, the first thing on our minds was to preserve jobs and make sure that our employees’ livelihoods would not be affected in a big way. ... The loan from DBS was very timely in helping us ensure we had the cash flow needed to continue our operations, retain and even upskill all our staff.” – Mr Walter Oh, co-Founder of Boxgreen

“As a Safe Management Officer at DBS, my duty of care is for the safety and health of the employees, which is of utmost importance to DBS and our community. Less exposure, more safety ... and while I keep the workplace safe, I also ensure I protect myself so that I can keep my home safe for my family. I hope others will share the same view and do their part to keep themselves and others safe.” – Mr Michael Lim

“I am in the process of developing an app. We are also going to go on Facebook Live, so that we can interact more with our customers. This is what it means to do business. No matter the situation, we remain decisive, and we move accordingly.” - Mr Wong Hing Kong, director, Unidbox Hardware

“I learnt that Singaporeans are very kind. … While I was delivering the food, I saw volunteers from many different organisations going around the block as well. It really surprised me. I've never seen this side to Singapore, and I'm proud to be one of them as well.” - Rahim Bin Abu Bakar, who helps deliver meals to those in need

“If anyone of us needs help, all we need to do is ask, and help will be there. Like how I am getting food delivered to my door now. I am grateful to DBS and The Food Bank Singapore for helping me through this time.” – Madam Josephine Low, beneficiary of The Singapore Food Bank’s “Feed the City – DBS Edition” programme

“When you’ve been hungry before, you will know how it feels. This is just a bit that I can do to help fellow Singaporeans,” Mr Goh Heng Hock, who runs Million Fishball Noodle at a Kim San Leng coffeeshop, helps provide meals for those in need as part of The Singapore Food Bank’s “Feed the City – DBS Edition” programme

“The food provided is very nice. It tastes homemade. We also get fruits, juice and sometimes milk. We are in a very critical situation (because of Covid-19). We can’t work, so we cannot expect to get a full salary. The sponsored meals are very helpful – we don’t have to worry and can remit more of our salary to support family back home.” – Mr Kumarasamy Velumani, 34, a migrant worker who gets his meals from ItsRainingRainCoats’ Project Belanja – DBS Edition programme

"During the circuit breaker period, many seniors were looking for someone to talk to. Most of these seniors are living alone or with their partners in rental flats. The LB Virtual Befriending@SAC – Singapore’s largest-ever virtual befriending volunteer initiative by DBS and Lions Befrienders – is a good platform to help them out of social isolation and prevent their health or mental state from deteriorating." – Mr Andy Shee, senior centre manager, Lion’s Befrienders