January 05, 2024 5:45 PMSINGAPORE - About $8 million in Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers have already been spent at participating heartland merchants, hawkers and supermarkets since the latest tranche was launched on Jan 3. In the same period, about 60 per cent of the 1.27 million Singaporean households - or more than 750,000 households - claimed their $500 worth of CDC vouchers, announced Mayor of South West District and chairwoman of the mayors’ committee Low Yen Ling on social media. She said in her post on Jan 5: “We hope these CDC Vouchers will come in handy to help residents defray daily expenses and inject additional boost to businesses, especially during the festive period and the start of the school year.” To help further offset costs, some participating supermarkets are offering return vouchers or other deals for those who use a minimum amount of CDC vouchers for each transaction. FairPrice Group (FPG), U Stars Supermarket, and the DFI Retail Group, which operates Cold Storage, CS Fresh and Jasons Deli, are offering vouchers for minimum spend of CDC vouchers. There are different claim and usage periods, depending on terms and conditions set out by each retailer. At Giant, also under the DFI Retail Group, those who spend $100 worth of vouchers from Jan 3 to 7 are eligible to redeem a 2.5kg bag of rice. One shopper who received the return vouchers from FPG was Ms Eileen Chong, who was at FairPrice Finest at Bishan Junction 8 on Jan 4. For spending $160 worth of her CDC vouchers, she received two return vouchers worth $8 each, which she can use until Feb 29. She was buying food and items such as eggs, Korean rice cakes and aluminium trays, for a party that she will be throwing at home.