Getting food where it’s needed most

EVERY Tuesday and Thursday a few volunteers from the Lost Food Project get in their cars and head to the side entrance of Bangsar Shopping Complex in Kuala Lumpur to pick up bread, fresh fruits and surplus food donated by Jason’s Hall supermarket for the needy.

The volunteers sort the food based on the needs of the five organisations they are working with – Lighthouse Orphanage, Kechara Soup Kitchen, Women’s Aid Organisation, Malaysian Social Research Institute and the Alliance of Chin Refugees – then deliver the food that very evening or, at the latest, the next morning.

“Most people think that food nearing its expiry date has gone off or doesn’t taste very good. That is a complete misconception. Some of the food is of very good quality and it is a real sin that it is thrown away,” said Suzanne Mooney, founder of the Lost Food Project who was at Tuesday’s MySaveFood Forum organised by Mardi (the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute).

“What we do is collect surplus food from the supermarkets and different manufacturers and simply redistribute these foods to those in need. So in effect we are actually a logistics organisation,” she said.

The group’s focus is to address food waste issues.

“We feed people. We feed them a very nutritious diet. Almost half of the food that is thrown away is fruits and vegetables. These are most often the foods that go off. And this is the kind of food that many of the organisations that we are giving food to lack. It is nutrition as well as feeding people,” Mooney said.

The project’s efforts are expanding rapidly since they began in February. Their main donors currently are Jason’s and Campbells; they have started working with Sime Darby and are looking to work with Cold Storage and other supermarkets and hypermarkets in the near future.

In fact, they are already talking about needing warehousing space to store donations while sorting and arranging delivery. The two refrigerated trucks they recently received will also help with that.

“We know there is a lot of food out there. People are approaching us now and we have to logistically organise it so that the food goes to those in need,” she said.

One of the reasons the Lost Food Project works well is because it has watertight contracts drawn up that protect the supermarkets and manufacturers that provide the surplus food.

“We believe hotels, supermarkets, shops and restaurants are very concerned about giving away food for various reasons. They are worried about the health issues and the whole issue of logistics and the economics of it.

“This way, they know that they are not going to be sued because we are doing this. We are following legal standards to the highest degree. They are not going to get in trouble with anybody.”

Mooney also said the Lost Food Project has professional food safety officers on board.

“Our SOP is very important to us so that there are no problems, issues and sicknesses because we store everything following professional standards.”

She hopes eventually there will be similar efforts nationwide.

“That is what happens in other countries and I don’t see why it can’t happen here.

“We are reducing waste, cutting down the environmental bill and feeding people who need it. It makes sense.”