GIANT LAUNCHES ‘SUDAH MAKAN?’ CAMPAIGN TO HELP FEED PEOPLE IN NEED
Together with the Lost Food Project, giant aims to provide 500,000 meals for Malaysian families.
GIANT Malaysia will target to provide half a million meals for the needy in partnership with The Lost Food Project by the end of next year through its Sudah Makan? campaign – in addition to its ongoing food donation initiatives.
As part of the campaign, a percentage of receipts of all Meadows brand rice purchased will go towards providing rice for local communities in need.
“Sudah makan?” (“Have you eaten?” in English) is a greeting often used in Asia to express care.
The aptly named campaign is part of GCH Retail’s larger corporate social responsibility effort to reduce hunger and increase food security in Malaysia. GCH Retail is a subsidiary of DFI Retail Group – the operator of Giant hypermarkets and supermarkets chain.
“Given the nature of our business, food is something very close to our heart,” said Lee Yik Hun, marketing director of food Southeast Asia at Dairy Farm Group.
“While we strive to provide the best value and quality at Giant to help customers stretch their dollar during these challenging times, we recognise that there are those in our community who are not able to afford a proper meal a day, let alone three.
“If our mission is to provide customers with what they need, we must also work hard to help those who are less fortunate.”
Giant customers will be able to contribute to the Sudah Makan? campaign when they purchase Meadows brand rice.
For every 1kg of rice sold, 10 sen will be diverted to buying rice to feed The Lost Food Project beneficiaries.
This commitment covers the entire range of Meadows rice products purchased at Giant stores as well as the other food stores under GCH Retail, supported by the expansion of Giant’s Food Rescue programme in partnership with The Lost Food Project.
The Lost Food Project is a pioneer of sustainable food banking in Malaysia – rescuing quality, nutritious surplus food and redistributing it to communities in need.
Giant piloted the Food Rescue
programme with The Lost Food Project in 2018, starting out with 12 participating outlets. To show its commitment to the programme, this year Giant has added 12 more Giant stores in the Klang Valley.
“The rescued food and donations will mainly be distributed to PPR, cluster homes, flats, low-cost housing areas and NGOS that are serving the elderly, orphans, disabled, homeless, refugees and other
underserved communities,” said The Lost Food Project president Zaiwiyah Saimon.
Lee shared that GCH Retail had increased its commitment because more families require support, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Our goal has always been to expand this programme nationwide, but the last two years were challenging.
“We are very pleased that we are now able to continue with the programme expansion, to provide aid to the community in other areas that Giant operates in,” he said.
On Aug 24, Giant officially renewed its collaboration with The Lost Food Project by gifting a Giant delivery truck for food surplus collection and delivery, together with 4,000kg of food essentials or the estimated equivalent of 11,430 meals to 200 families from PPR Seri Semarak and PPR Sg Bonus in Kuala Lumpur.
The food donation consisted of essential goods such as Meadows rice, cooking oil, flour, sugar, Covid-19 self-test kits and other grocery items. A RM100 voucher was also donated to each family.
“I am pleased and appreciative of the support as well as the close collaboration between Giant, NGOS and the Social Welfare Department,” said Social Welfare Department community division director Quek Kia Ann at the launch of the Sudah Makan? campaign.
As part of its efforts to drive awareness of the Sudah Makan? campaign, Giant transformed the look of its fleet of delivery vehicles to display campaign messages to invite customers to participate in its efforts to feed the hungry.
“We want to encourage our customers and the public to join us in giving back to the community, and addressing the hunger problems in Malaysia,” said Lee.
“Even by purchasing just one bag of rice, you can make a difference. After all, we truly believe that it’s the little things that make a GIANT difference!”