The world produces enough food for everyone on the planet, and yet a significant number of people remain hungry. Food culture, which is how food is chosen and consumed, not only impacts health and the environment – it also affects those who do not have access to food.
Mohd Syazwan Mokhtar is the general manager of The Lost Food Project (TLFP), a non-profit organisation that salvages food and redistributes it to the needy. According to him, households are the biggest contributors to food waste in Malaysia.
“One of the things we don’t realise is that we waste a lot of food. More than 4,000 tonnes end up in our landfills daily, and yet there are thousands who are hungry,” the 36-year-old tells FMT.
Furthermore, food in landfills rots and emits greenhouse gases that damage the environment, he says.
To address these issues, TLFP collects food surplus from manufacturers, supermarkets, wholesale markets and other producers, and redistributes them to charities, organisations and B40 households who live in People’s Housing Projects (PPR).
“We collaborate with soup kitchens, parliamentarians and local governments to reach out to more people,” Syazwan says.
Some 60-70% of TLFP’s food collection is made up of vegetables, with 15-20 tonnes distributed to about 10,000 recipients weekly.
TLFP also focuses on education and outreach activities to create more awareness on food waste and environmental sustainability. Syazwan points out that a lot of food is thrown out once it goes past its sell-by date, even though it is perfectly edible with proper handling and storage.
“If you can’t eat the vegetables you bought in the next three days, you can always freeze them or turn it into sauce,” he says.
The pandemic, Syazwan adds, has helped shed light on food insecurity. “We’ve had more food donors since the movement control orders began. People are more willing to be the solution to problems in the community.”
The Food Donors Protection Act 2020, which protects donors from civil liability, has also made people more willing to contribute.
Syazwan says TLFP has remained strong despite the challenges posed by Covid-19.
“We were initially worried when we no longer got food from our ‘pasar borong’, which were our biggest food contributors,” he says. “But we had a core team of about eight to 10 people who worked 10 to 12 hours a day – not to mention the rest of our volunteers – laying their lives on the line to help the needy.”
TLFP has also been involved in forums and panels involving food banks that were created to help those badly affected by the lockdowns.
#GoodFoodGoodMood
In conjunction with World Food Day today and World Mental Health Day on Oct 10, TLFP is running the #rainbowlchallenge, part of its #GoodFoodGoodMood campaign that advocates the consumption of nutritious food for positive mental wellbeing.
The public is invited to support the campaign by posting pictures of colourful and nutritious meals, donating to TLFP, and tagging friends and family to help spread awareness.
Syazwan explains that for every RM20, TLFP will be able to provide 100 meals to those in need.
Another way to help is by joining them. The organisation currently has about 300 active volunteers but is always on the lookout for more; and there are many different areas one can be involved with, from IT and marketing to food procurement and distribution.
At the end of the day, though, the best way to help TLFP’s cause is by reducing food waste and planning one’s meals.
“Businesses have to make sure they optimise their production to minimise waste,” he says. “But really, everything starts from home.”
He hopes there will be no need for TLFP in the long run, but until then, “we can have 10 TLFPs, but if we do not change our food culture, things will not change”.
To find out more about The Lost Food Project, including its #GoodFoodGoodMood campaign, visit its website, Facebook and Instagram.