HCMC eateries offer pay-it-forward meals for those in need

In early May, 29-year-old Minh Thy watched a video of a boy selling lottery tickets who received a meal at an eatery in Ho Chi Minh City’s Hoc Mon District. This meal had been prepaid by customers eager to assist the less fortunate. These contributions are often referred to as "suspended" meals, or "pending" meals, because the restaurant is asked to hold onto them for individuals who can’t afford food, to be used at a later time.

"I was moved by the joyful expression on the boy’s face," Thy said of the video, adding that twice a week, she goes to the restaurant, which is two kilometers from her home, to dine and sponsor two to four meals. On some days, even when she doesn’t eat, she still stops by to pay for "suspended" meals.

Over the past month, eateries in Ho Chi Minh City have adopted the idea. Customers, often remaining anonymous, pay for extra meals to treat strangers who come later.

The practice is inspired by the suspended coffee tradition originated in Naples, Italy.

In the early 20th century, during a time of economic hardship and increasing poverty, the advance purchase of a cup of coffee for someone who needs was considered an anonymous charity. It was a way to share the poor’s burdens in life.

A young lottery ticket seller picks up a set of free meals suspended from hooks in front of a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, May 28, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Ngan

One afternoon in late April, Long Hoang, 31, drove 10 kilometers to a grilled chicken and rice shop in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City to have dinner and pay for "suspended" sets of meals. He learned about the practice through a post on social media.

"I find it a meaningful and practical act," he said. "It helps both the less fortunate and the restaurant’s owners."

Hoang asks the owner, to whom he sends VND3 million (US$118) every quarter, to suspend a box of rice every day for poor children or elderly workers passing by.

Thanh Cong, 23, owner of a broken rice shop in the city’s Hoc Mon District, started "suspending" meals at his establishment in early May. He positioned a thermal insulated box near the shop’s entrance, accompanied by a sign that read: "Pending meals for needy uncles and aunts. Please open the box and take one portion if available."

On the walls of his 80-square-meter restaurant, Cong also affixed three sheets explaining the concept.

Inside his restaurant, a dish of ribs and rice sells for VND35,000, but its suspended version costs on VND20,000 only. Receivers of such meals are children and elderly people who sell lottery tickets, collect scrap, or street vendors passing by.

The initiative initially surprised his customers, but it quickly gained their wholehearted support. Every day, the restaurant accumulates about five to eight pending portions during its opening hours from 4:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. If no donations are made, the owner himself pays for the meals and places them in the box.

"Offering suspended meals is an anonymous act of kindness, which maintains the dignity of the recipients," Cong said.

A restaurant owner prepares suspended meals in Ho Chi Minh City, afternoon May 28, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Ngan

Among the recipients are the five-year-old Duc and his grandmother Hong, 61. Hong suffers from kidney disease and sells lottery tickets to support two grandsons. Initially, she hesitated to take the meals because she is still able to work and earn money, albeit not much. It was only after Cong explained that the meal was offered by his customers, not "total charity," that she accepted.

Duc likes ribs and rice, but his savings allows him to afford only one portion every month. Therefore, on most days now he passes by the shop to take a pending meal and enjoy it.

"I feel very happy," he said.

At 6 p.m. on May 28, Pham Cao, 61, a recently landless widower living three kilometers away from the restaurant, also paid a visit.

His wife died of cancer and all his farmland was sold off in unfortunate circumstances. Cao immigrated from Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta region to Ho Chi Minh City about four months ago.

Every day, he sells lottery tickets and earns VND120,000. He has to set aside VND80,000 for arthritis medication. Therefore, Cao only dares to eat one meal a day, usually a sandwich or instant noodles.

At the beginning of May, he discovered the suspended meal phenomenon when a random restaurant owner offered one to him.

"That’s the best meal I’ve had since I came to Saigon," he said.