KUALA LUMPUR – With a staggering 5,000 tonnes of perfectly good food ending up in landfill sites each day, a civil society group has called for food banks to be set up in each state.
Not only will this prevent massive waste, said Food Aid Foundation (FAF) founder Rick Chee, but it will also help the country’s most vulnerable communities.
Citing research by Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation Sdn Bhd, he said Malaysia produces 38,000 tonnes of waste daily, about half of which comprises food items, and of these, 4,000 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes are still fit for human consumption.
He urged the government to replicate the efforts of FAF’s food bank in Desa Tun Razak, Cheras, that has been operating for seven years, feeding thousands of needy folk at a low cost.
“We have proven that it can be done. No doubt, we are in the biggest city in Malaysia, but if you go to Penang, Ipoh, Alor Star, or towns like Batu Pahat, there are food manufacturers there, too,” he told The Vibes yesterday.
Chee said there are numerous food-production factories in Kluang’s industrial zone, as well as in Mersing and Melaka.
“If we are able to set up in every big city where there are food manufacturers, the food banks will get a steady supply of food and distribute it efficiently.”
He said packed food items with a week left to their expiry date are often pulled from supermarket shelves for disposal.
“A food bank will take the food and send it to those in need, to be consumed over the next few days. That’s how we manage.”
FAF, which has 15 full-time staff who are aided by volunteers, distributes food to 75 welfare organisations on a regular basis. However, the number of recipient groups has jumped to 125 since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
The foundation has handed out some RM4.2 million worth of food donated by corporations and restaurants, such as Tesco and Madam Kwan’s, since it began operations.
Chee said FAF also receives cash assistance from MBSB Bank Bhd, which helps pay for its operational expenses.
An additional RM5.8 million in food aid was given to those living in low-cost flats, immigrants and refugees throughout the movement control order (MCO).
On average, FAF handles some 600 tonnes of “repurposed food” a year.
Its Desa Tun Razak operations are valued at RM700,000, including the kitchen, renovation works, computers, four lorries, three cold rooms and a food-testing lab.
“It could be even cheaper for other food banks, as we can share facilities such as the lab,” said Chee.
Unlike many food banks in Western countries that focus on packed and processed items, FAF also distributes raw meat, and testing is carried out at its lab to ensure the meat distributed is free of E. coli and salmonella.
The 61-year-old Chee said he got the idea of setting up a food bank after growing up in poverty and then working in the hospitality industry, where he witnessed huge amounts of food going to waste.
When the MCO ended, FAF began training low-income folk and the unemployed on how to properly handle and cook food.
It has seen two batches of 10 individuals participating in a month-long course, where they are taught how to earn a living from small-scale food production.
“They can go on to become caterers, or bake and sell cookies with a long shelf life, as well as pastries and paste, to generate an income,” said Chee. – The Vibes, October 18, 2020
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