The DBS Foundation Community Pop-Up Market was launched to support lower-income households amid higher living costs. It sought to help defray cost of living pressures & build resilience of the vulnerable by providing comprehensive support spanning essential provisions, practical knowledge, connecting with local community partners and more.
DBSF contributed SGD3.8M to organise and run 38 pop-up markets island-wide. Held in strategically selected towns, these pop-up markets allowed beneficiaries to choose around SGD 100 worth of household essentials for free, as well as pick up useful budgeting & nutrition tips that could benefit their daily lives in the long run.
DBSF also introduced a variation, namely ‘Supermarket Shopping with Seniors’ sessions, to specifically cater to lower-income seniors in these towns who require more hands-on and 1:1 support. At these sessions, DBS volunteers accompany the seniors to nearby supermarkets to shop for the groceries they need, which are sponsored by DBS, and help carry these back to their homes.
DBSF’s target was to reach 29,000 low-income households through these markets.
The DBS Foundation Community Pop-Up Market programme was executed through a collaborative strategy, anchored in DBSF’s belief in driving collective action to create impact at scale.
DBSF partnered Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth’s (MCCY) SG Cares Volunteer Centre network and 13 Volunteer Centres. This collaboration facilitated the identification and wide outreach to low-income households across Singapore. DBSF initially piloted the market in 2023-2024; following its success, DBSF rolled it out at scale: 38 markets and 14 "Supermarket Shopping with Seniors" sessions conducted over seven months from September 2024 to April 2025.
Markets were strategically held within the beneficiaries' towns, utilising accessible community spaces such as community centers and HDB void decks located near/under their homes. These spaces were selected with the Volunteer Centres’ input, based on their understanding of and relationships with local communities, to ensure optimal reach and convenience for the beneficiaries, including specifically accommodating beneficiaries with mobility issues.
The programme aimed to defray cost of living pressures for vulnerable households by enabling them to select around SGD 100 worth of household items based on their family’s needs. Careful thought also went into scaling this according to household size, to ensure larger families received a commensurate quantity of provisions.
Execution involved significant volunteer mobilisation. DBSF engaged over 2,000 DBS employee volunteers and their families, which required wide coordination of volunteers across multiple departments within DBS. These volunteers were instrumental in end-to-end operations of each market. Their roles included setting up market stations, managing inventory, guiding beneficiaries through the selection process for household essentials, facilitating the Supermarket Shopping with Seniors sessions, and providing one-on-one practical budgeting and nutrition tips. These direct, hands-on engagements served to enhance the beneficiaries’ experience and foster positive relationships.
A key feature of the markets was the integration of educational outreach and resources – i.e. leveraging the markets as touchpoints to also equip beneficiaries with useful tips. DBSF engaged various partners (e.g. DBS, Singapore’s Health Promotion Board) for insights; after which, it developed a budgeting and nutrition guide and an interactive iPad game to teach healthy and budgeting habits.
This provided holistic support for beneficiaries, allowing them to not only receive essential items but also acquire and apply practical knowledge for improved budgeting and healthier living.
Operational challenges included managing safety and comfort for large participant numbers. We addressed this by deploying on-site paramedics, establishing designated zones for Personal Mobility Devices and wheelchair users. Product selection for beneficiaries was continuously refined through close collaboration with Volunteer Centres and optimisation based on data-driven feedback from our supermarket vendor.
The DBS Foundation Community Pop-Up Market exceeded its primary objective of supporting 29,000 low-income households. The programme reached close to 34,000 low-income households across 23 towns, covering almost all of Singapore. This was achieved through 38 markets and 14 Supermarket Shopping with Seniors sessions.
The engagement of over 2,000 DBS volunteers and their families contributed significantly to this outcome. This programme successfully achieved its targets, and its impact is demonstrated by:
This initiative also served as a significant corporate volunteer movement that inspired and served as best practice for a similar market by the Association of Banks in Singapore, and later established the groundwork for the DBSF Nutrition and Social Connection Programme, an SGD 7.3 million programme addressing nutritional and social isolation gaps among vulnerable seniors.
