Food Aid Foundation: redirecting surplus to hungry tummies

Free Malaysia Today

Founder Rick Chee started the NGO in 2013 after witnessing the amount of food waste during his time in the F&B industry.   Written & presented by: Theevya Ragu  Shot by: Afizi Ismail  Edited by: Selven Razz   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2025/02/17/no-food-waste-no-hungry-families-ngos-mission-since-2013/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #FoodAidFoundation #FoodWaste #foodsecurity

Transcript

00:00If you imagine having a family with 11 brothers and 3 sisters and the father is a lorry driver,

00:08in fact I have never witnessed food waste in my childhood.

00:13The sibling has to fight over what is on the table.

00:18Those childhood lessons never left him.

00:21Today, as the founder of Food Aid Foundation,

00:24Rick Chee has spent more than 10 years making sure fewer Malaysians go to bed on an empty stomach.

00:31My name is Rick Chee and I spent the last 40 years in the F&B industry and through my work

00:39I have seen so much food wastage all across the board from all sectors of the food service

00:46establishment from hotels, restaurants, manufacturers, importers of food and all

00:53this food has gone to waste and that's how I got the motivation. If there are donors

01:01and there are plenty of recipients, we only lack the intermediary, you know, as a middleman.

01:08So I thought it is a good concept, that's how I started Food Aid Foundation in 2013.

01:15Our mission basically is to rescue and recover surplus food, those food that are close to

01:21expiration, those food that are still good to eat but not good to sell commercially, you know.

01:28FMT Lifestyle visited their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to see their work in action.

01:34Each day is different and this morning, operations begin early as their truck sets off to Pastry

01:40World in Sha'alam to collect baskets of bread for distribution. Chee explains that they partner

01:48with major grocers like Lotus to redirect surplus food to them instead of letting it go to waste in

01:54landfills. I came from a very poor family, I have experienced extreme poverty and to see so much

02:02food being wasted, that somehow triggers everything, that I have to do something.

02:08The truck then heads to various PPR homes in KL,

02:12ensuring the food is distributed equally to each household.

02:16At PPR Sri Sarawak, home to over 780 households,

02:21committee member Sharifah Rodia says Food Aid Foundation has been providing donations since 2019.

02:38Food Aid Foundation also rescues fresh vegetables from the Selayang market,

02:55produce deemed not pretty enough and otherwise discarded or resold cheaply.

03:01With a large kitchen at their headquarters, they are able to cook and deliver fresh meals

03:06to those in need. Supporting more than 70 welfare homes, Food Aid Foundation's impact

03:13extends across the Klang Valley as well as to other states. Beyond daily aid, they also respond

03:20to emergencies, providing relief during crises like the recent floods in Kelantan.

03:26In just one year, they have distributed close to 20 million ringgit worth of food.

03:31But while their impact is undeniable, Chee emphasises that lasting change is crucial.

03:37I think something bold must be done by our government to sort of put this as something

03:45educational for school because people fail to understand how much we save.

03:52People fail to understand how much resources have been put to cultivate or to grow food and

03:59we just throw it like nobody's business just because we are able. I think mother nature

04:06has been kind to us for too many years. We have to act on it before it's too late.

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