Paying it forward: Receipts for the hungry

In today’s fast-paced world, “pay it forward” meals may seem like a social media trend from years past and momentary altruism to help those in need get a meal from a restaurant.

But the Choon Guan Hainan Coffee 1956 restaurant in Pandamaran, Selangor, is one eatery that is still keeping the practice alive.

The restaurant’s current and third-generation owner, David Kan, said the practice is a homage to his mother, who always made an effort to feed hungry mouths when she was running the shop.

“Pandamaran was just a village before, and almost every day, there would be someone coming to the shop asking for food and drink.

“My mother would give what we had, either bread, rice, or kuih to them,” he told Malaysiakini.

In its current iteration, customers can pay meals forward and stick receipts at a sign at the counter.

Those who can’t afford a meal, meanwhile, can take one of the receipts to get food and drink.

Kan said that, at first, customers were not willing to pay it forward, so he and his workers got the ball rolling, and then he slowly picked up support from patrons.

“Today, many meals are paid forward to the point that we actually need more people to come and claim it,” he said.

He also hoped that those who benefited from such meals could one day pay it forward themselves when their lot in life has improved.

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