--- description: Find out why Beng Who Cooks is one of TIME's Heroes of 2020. title: Beng Who Cooks: TIME's Heroes of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6458c9abd5a9e570/698a15118fd2ee679f3620c7/heroes-of-the-year-2020-beng-who-cooks-vertical-lede.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Dec 11, 2020 # The Food-Stall Owners Who Wouldn't Let Anyone Go Hungry by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.  Jason Chua and Hung Zhen Long, who co-own Beng Who Cooks in the popular Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, on Aug. 11 Jason Chua and Hung Zhen Long, who co-own Beng Who Cooks in the popular Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, on Aug. 11Aik kai Teo As restaurants around the world took huge hits during [COVID-19 lockdowns](https://time.com/5850143/covid-19-re-entry-anxiety/ "undefined"), two food-stall owners in Singapore remained busier than ever. When the Southeast Asian city-state went into a “[circuit breaker](https://time.com/5901394/circuit-breaker-covid-uk/ "undefined")” lockdown in April to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Jason Chua and Hung Zhen Long, who co-own [Beng Who Cooks](https://www.instagram.com/bengwhocooks/?hl=en "undefined") in the popular Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, took to delivering food—free of charge—to anyone who couldn’t afford it. Chua says the idea was prompted by a friend who told him about seeing an elderly man begging for money in a coffee shop; the friend asked Chua if they could do [something to help](https://time.com/collection/apart-not-alone/ "undefined"). Just hours later, Chua and Hung shared a message on the Beng Who Cooks Instagram page, telling Singaporeans to reach out if they needed a free meal, with a promise to not ask any [questions](https://time.com/5917174/coronavirus-christmas-travel/ "undefined"). They were soon inundated with requests. Chua and Hung put up roughly $6,000 of their personal funds for the cause, while Chua’s friend—the one who had raised the initial concern about [food access](https://time.com/5917347/world-food-programme-hunger-covid-19/ "undefined") during the pandemic—donated $5,000 more. From April to June, when lockdown measures eased, Chua estimates that they gave away around 2,500 meals—each consisting of a bowl of rice, a protein and two vegetables. Life has largely returned to normal in Singapore, where COVID-19 is currently under control. Beng Who Cooks has stopped its deliveries, and Chua and Hung have shuttered the food stall to focus on a new endeavor: opening a restaurant. But their work during lockdown gave new [meaning to goodwill](https://time.com/5817906/coronavirus-help/ "undefined"), which accountants, when determining the full value of [a business](https://time.com/5887425/entrepreneurs-of-color-coronavirus/ "undefined"), describe as an intangible asset. Not that this was about business. “I don’t want to see kids or families go hungry,” Chua says. **Write to** Amy Gunia at [amy.gunia@time.com](mailto:amy.gunia@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20The%20Food-Stall%20Owners%20Who%20Wouldn%27t%20Let%20Anyone%20Go%20Hungry&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F5916452%2Fbeng-who-cooks%2F "undefined"). 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