Grab Hackfest 2025

 

Name of the competition : Grab Hackfest 2025

About the competition : The challenge centered on how Grab could address food insecurity by making nutritious meals more accessible to low-income households in Singapore while ensuring sustainability.

Date of the competition : 21 March 2025 

Achievement : Champion

Prize : Certificates of Achievement 

REP Students : Lye Tse Hao and Ho Xu Ying Nicole

Description : The proposal combines technology, community partnerships, and sustainability, addressing gaps in current food support systems. It also ensures inclusivity through features for non-tech-savvy users, such as a hotline with dialect support.  The team’s data-driven, scalable solution impressed judges for its practicality and potential to transform food aid distribution in Singapore.

Product/Proposal :  The team’s "Two-Pronged Approach" tackles three critical pain points: high costs and preparation barriers, insufficient food aid and nutrient-poor food aid.  Firstly, through "GrabFresh", the team proposed partnering with supermarkets to quantify and redistribute unsold, edible produce (for example, blemished or near-expiry items) to low-income households.  Users can browse and reserve groceries via the Grab app, then collect them from designated nearby supermarkets, ensuring accessibility and reducing food waste.

Secondly, the team proposed "GrabCooks" where there can be collaborations with hawkers to transform surplus produce into affordable and nutritious meals during off-peak hours.  These meals can then be delivered to households, particularly benefiting the elderly and mobility-impaired, at tiered subsidized prices ($1-$3 per meal).

In terms of impact and scalability of the initiative, the team estimated that there will be 61,076 households who will gain access to affordable and nutritious food.  In addition, there will be a 50% reduction in food costs for beneficiaries.  Finally, 15,100 tonnes of food waste can be redirected annually, equivalent to 14.6 million meals.  The proposal is designed for nationwide rollout, leveraging on Grab’s existing logistics and partnerships.

Lye Tse Hao (second from right) and Ho Xu Ying Nicole (fifth from right).