SINGAPORE - From January 2026, students from 13 schools will buy food from caterers and vendors instead of individual canteen stallholders.

Their schools will be switching to

a central kitchen meal model,

Five schools located in the west - Dazhong Primary, Kranji Primary, Pioneer Primary, Qifa Primary and West View Primary - will cater from Chang Cheng Mee Wah Food Ind.

Catering company Gourmetz, will provide meals for five schools in the south. These include CHIJ Kellock, Radin Mas Primary and River Valley Primary.

Blangah Rise Primary, which had previously in 2021 engaged airline catering and logistics company Sats to cater meals, will switch to Gourmetz in 2026.

Gourmetz will also serve Outram Secondary’s York Hill campus until it closes in 2027. The school is currently operating from two locations until its complete move to Sengkang.

Four more schools along the northern and eastern parts of Singapore will be served by Wilmar Distribution. These are Casuarina Primary, Chongzheng Primary School, Northoaks Primary and Outram Secondary School’s Sengkang campus.

A spokesman from the Education Ministry (MOE) said central kitchen operators need to provide at least one full meal priced at no more than $2.70 in primary schools and $3.60 in secondary schools.

They must also follow the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy Meals in Schools Programme guidelines and provide a good variety of food choices.

The central kitchen model is being expanded to more schools, after Yusof Ishak Secondary School piloted it in 2022, said the spokesman.