Refining Central Kitchen Meal Model an ongoing process

We thank Mr Du Yongjun for his letter, "学生愿意吃中央厨房健康餐食吗?" (22 April 2026).

The Central Kitchen Meal Model (CKMM), rolled out in 13 schools, mainly aims to help schools facing a severe shortage of stallholders provide meals to students. In addition, CKMM also offers an opportunity to reduce food wastage by providing a variety of meals based on curated menus, and preparing each set based on students' orders.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) recognises that, as with any meal provision model, not all meals may be fully consumed. This was particularly noticeable among younger primary school students, who were unable to finish their meal portions, or needed more time to get used to new flavours and dishes they have not tried before.

As Mr Du pointed out, understanding students' preferences is important in encouraging them to consume their meals. Since the CKMM was rolled out earlier this year, MOE and schools have been actively working with operators to review students' feedback and consumption patterns to make adjustments to recipes and portion sizes, where appropriate. This is not unlike how traditional canteen stallholders make adjustments to their food offerings, based on students' reception to the food they prepare, in order to gauge which items are more popular and to avoid discarding unsold portions.

Making changes is an ongoing and iterative process, as students' tastes and preferences are varied and evolving, and it is not possible for every dish to appeal to every student. Some meals will naturally be more popular and consumed more fully, while others may be less well-received. We also recognise that healthier items such as vegetables and fruits may be less appealing to some students. MOE and schools will keep working closely with the three CKMM operators to explore how meals can be refined to incorporate students' preferences, including making healthier options more attractive to them.

Ang Zhongren
Divisional Director, Infrastructure and Facility Services Division
Ministry of Education

 

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持续完善中央厨房供餐模式

谨答复《联合早报·交流站·青年视角》于4月22日刊登的杜勇俊同学投函《学生愿意吃中央厨房健康餐食吗？》：

我们感谢杜同学的投函。

中央厨房供餐模式已在13所学校推行，主要旨在帮助面临严重摊贩短缺的学校为学生提供餐食。此外，中央厨房供餐模式也通过提供基于精选菜单的多样化餐食，并根据学生订单准备每份餐食，以减少食物浪费。

教育部认识到，如同任何餐食供应模式，并非所有餐食都能被完全食用。这一点在低年级小学生中尤为明显，他们可能无法吃完自己的餐食分量，或者需要更多时间适应他们从未尝试过的新口味和菜肴。

正如杜同学所指出的，了解学生的喜好对于鼓励他们吃完餐食很重要。自中央厨房供餐模式今年初推出以来，教育部和学校一直积极与业者合作，检讨学生的反馈和食用模式，并在适当时候调整食谱和分量。这与传统食堂摊贩，根据学生对所准备食物的接受度来调整售卖的食物，以评估哪些食物更受欢迎并避免丢弃未售出的部分，并无二致。

调整菜品是一个持续且反复的过程，因为学生的口味和喜好各不相同且不断变化，不可能每道菜都为所有学生喜爱。有些餐食自然会更受欢迎并被充分食用，而另一些则可能接受度较低。我们也认识到，蔬菜和水果等更健康的食物，可能不受一些学生的欢迎。教育部和学校会继续与三家中央厨房供餐模式的业者紧密合作，探讨如何改进餐食以兼顾学生的喜好，包括让更健康的选项对他们更具吸引力。

洪中仁
基础设施与设施服务司 统筹司长
教育部