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Total Defence Day: Students try ready-to-eat meals to simulate food disruption Gabrielle Chan SINGAPORE – Nods of approval were seen all over the classroom as students from Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, including Secondary 4 student Diya Manu, took their first bite of their ready-to-eat meals on Feb 15. Diya, 15, had a butter chicken meal with briyani rice, which came in a bento box, similar to the ones seen in convenience stores. “It really was quite delicious, and pretty balanced, as it had all the necessary nutrients,” said Diya, adding that she thought the food would taste like army combat rations. Diya and her schoolmates were taking part in a food disruption exercise that was part of this year’s Total Defence Day activities. Their school was one of 40 secondary schools that got a taste of what a food emergency is like, when canteen offerings are replaced with locally made ready-to-eat meals. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor joined Diya and her classmates for the meal at Cedar Girls’ Secondary, as teachers spoke about the importance of Total Defence and ways to prepare for a potential emergency. Mr Chan also spoke to the class about stockpiling, an example of what Singapore has been doing to prepare for emergencies, and explained how the Republic stocks up food to prepare for disruptions. The food disruption exercise is one of three – the other two are water and power supply disruptions – being simulated on Feb 15 and 16 by more than 500 organisations islandwide. Among them are 352 schools, where more than 400,000 students and teachers are taking part in the disruption exercises. Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman visited Jurong West Secondary School to observe a power supply disruption and how students responded to the emergency.
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