945 TONNES OF SURPLUS FOOD GIVEN TO 26,200 NEEDY HOMES
NGOs distribute food collected through ministry’s Food Bank Malaysia
ATOTAL of 945 tonnes of surplus food was saved by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry through its Food Bank Malaysia programme.
Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Jamil Salleh said the collected surplus food was, in turn, channelled to 26,200 deserving households.
He said the programme collected the surplus food, which was in good condition, and distributed it to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which channelled it to deserving households.
The NGOs include Mutiara Food Bank, Kechara Soup Kitchen, as well as the Food Aid Foundation.
“The surplus food will be collected, cleaned and stored before being distributed by NGOs to the needy.
“Until Nov 15, we (the ministry) saved 945 metric tonnes of surplus food, which benefited 26,200 households,” he said here yesterday.
Jamil said 12 supermarkets were involved in the programme.
The supermarkets were Tesco (Stores) Malaysia Sdn Bhd, GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Aeon Co (M) Bhd, Aeon Big (M) Sdn Bhd, Econsave Cash & Carry Sdn Bhd, NSK Trade City Sdn Bhd, TF Value-Mart Sdn Bhd, My Hero Hypermarket Sdn Bhd and Family Store Sdn Bhd.
“The supermarkets are focused on three perishable items comprising fruits, vegetables and bread.
“Nevertheless, the ministry will not limit the type of food products to be contributed by them.”
He said pilot projects had been initiated in Penang, Perak, Johor, Selangor, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.
“These projects are conducted in each state to ensure that each NGO, as well as the supermarkets in the state are ready to ensure that the programme runs smoothly from next year onwards.
“The programme will be expanded and will be launched by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Penang on Dec 22 .”