Canopy is eating local and sustainable towards food resilience in Singapore

Canopy is a garden concept restaurant chain in the garden city of Singapore, boasting lush greenery & biophilic designs. Their location in the heart of nature in HortPark, Bishan Park as well as Changi City Point feeds into their strong commitment to sustainable food.

“Canopy has always placed nature at the core of our identity. As we continue to grow, we strive towards a sustainable supply of food resources and to be a partner in the sustainable food journey of our community.”

One of their first ventures into the sustainable food sphere was during Singapore Restaurant Week when they introduced a fully vegan lunch and dinner menu. Many local food producers collaborated on this special menu which featured plant-based chicken from Thoughtful Food and Shandi Global and vegetarian sauce from The SOS Kitchen, completed with vegan pastries by ROA and soya wine by SinFooTech. In their continuous efforts, Canopy will be incorporating more meat-free options into their daily menu.

Many of these innovative food tech companies are Singapore-grown and are strongly supported through schemes and funds by the Government to improve sustainable urban food production. As a small island nation with limited natural resources, food security is a critical issue for Singapore. In fact, the city-state imports more than 90% of its food (SFA, 2021).

This is why in October 2022, R-Cities hosted an Urban Eats Dinner at Canopy HortPark, starring celebrity chef and food activist Bobby Chinn who curated a waste-free menu to raise awareness of food circularity and resilience. This dinner was in support of the newly launched Urban Eats campaign, which calls on cities to scale up circular practices in their waste systems and increase their capacity to provide food security for their residents.

Both Canopy’s initiatives and the Urban Eats campaign are closely aligned with Singapore’s ‘30 by 30’ goal of producing 30% of the country’s nutritional needs locally by 2030, as part of the Green Plan 2030.

“Together with Singapore’s 30 by 30 Initiative and focus on food resilience, we hope to contribute by continuing to make delectable food sustainably for our future generations.”

To find out more about Canopy, visit https://www.canopygardendining.com/ or email events@ditp.com

Amid rising food demand and prices, cities must take urgent action to reduce and repurpose food waste to provide food security for their residents while simultaneously achieving economic opportunities and emission reduction. The Urban Eats campaign is mobilizing cities towards a more circular and resilient food system by: 1) creating value out of food waste, 2) redistributing excess food, 3) producing more locally, 4) promoting food habit change among city residents and businesses, and 5) strengthening collaboration across the whole food value chain. Through the sharing of city stories such as Singapore’ initiative to produce more locally, we hope to help you consider simple yet diverse ways to manage food waste in your city. Want to inspire other cities with your story? Get in touch with llim@r-cities.org.