GEORGE TOWN – The absence of a centralised food aid system in Penang has propelled a group of volunteers to start the Penang Food Aid programme, which will link those who wish to provide foodstuff to local convenience stores for the benefit of disadvantaged families.
Penang Food Aid co-founder Dr Chee Su Yin told The Vibes that the Covid-19 pandemic had highlighted the issue of homelessness and the urban poor. “For some people, life is already hard – and now, it’s even worse because of the pandemic,” said the academician. “No doubt the government is already starting to relax the movement control orders – but many of us are still living with the after-effects.”
This prompted her to look into a method that would ease the dissemination of food aid directly to the needy – most especially single mothers – because current avenues proved to be too much a hassle.
Having researched on how to channel food aid directly to the urban poor, Dr Chee stumbled upon a system called Kuching Food Aid which was started by Shen-Tel Lee. “I am grateful to Shen-Tel for being willing to share the donation model with me. When I saw how she managed to get the community together to do some good, I thought Penang could benefit from having something similar,” she said, adding that she thought it would be a good idea to buy aid off the shelf and then channel it to those who really needed it.
Despite her commitments as a scientist and a mother-of-two, Dr Chee managed to set up Penang Food Aid within three months, collaborating with non-governmental organisations Caremongering Penang and Women of The Future Southeast Asia, as well as local grocery shop So Convenient Store (SCS).
The method is simple; donors can purchase a food aid box worth RM50 which comprises of rice, sardines, instant noodles, cooking oil, eggs, and other edible needs, depending on the family.
The donation can be made online, or at any SCS outlet. Donors can also help identify a family that is in need by furnishing the SCS branch with delivery details, and the store will pack and deliver the food aid directly to the recipients.
Dr Chee chose to launch the programme on International Women’s Day as she hoped to reach out to as many needy single mothers who have been categorised as “urban poor” as possible. “It is not that I am promoting this aid programme at the expense of others; far from it. There are other good causes that people can freely choose to contribute to.
“I will say, however, that we want this initiative to help as many people in need as possible, so that people won’t go hungry. Some people have lost their sources of income through no fault of their own – and I think it is important that we pull through this together,” she affirmed.
Those interested to purchase a food aid box can click on the website link given here. – The Vibes, March 8, 2021
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