SUNWAY, 1 June 2017:
Eighty families and 100 homeless individuals. Those are the average numbers of people the Kechara Soup Kitchen Society feeds every night around Malaysia.
Given those staggering numbers of urban poor and homeless – who depend on handouts and charity – it is timely that the Sunway Group launched its #ZeroFoodWastage initiative, in collaboration with Kechara to support this good cause.
Surplus food from the hotel’s breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, as well as banquets, will be shared daily with the needy, said Sunway group deputy executive chairman Tan Sri Razman M. Hashim.
“Many Malaysians are fortunate to have an abundance of food and may not give much thought to the 270,000 tonnes of food wasted every Ramadhan.
“By educating the public on food wastage, doing good deeds and feeding the homeless and urban poor, we can make small changes for a better and more sustainable future.”
While this is Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa’s second consecutive year with the programme, it was joined by sister hotels Sunway Clio Hotel and Sunway Pyramid Hotel on May 27 this year.
All the three hotels will continue their partnership with Kechara beyond the Ramadhan period, he added.
Other hotels in the group like Sunway Putra Hotel KL, the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Ipoh and Sunway Hotels in Georgetown and Seberang Jaya (Penang), will also come on board from July – upon completion of their respective operational and food safety compliance measures.
A special launch briefing was held on Tuesday to highlight the hotel’s special hygienic packing, weighing and stringent process of freezing and food chilling – to ensure no growth of bacteria which may contaminate the food.
Kechara trucks then collect the packed food from the hotel at 4pm everyday for redistribution, which means the food is not kept for more than two days.
At the launch, Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa generously donated more than 200kg of food – including 53 tins of margarine, 1.2kg of bread, 20kg of fruit and white rice, kambing briyani, vegetables, telur ikan berlada, sambal udang petai and more.
The initiative marked the first event this year for the Sunway Food Programme, which is made up of three components focused on achieving goals 1 and 2 – no poverty, and zero hunger respectively – of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Apart from the #ZeroFoodWastage initiative, Sunway volunteers will pack some 240,000 meals across Malaysia come August – in partnership with the international hunger relief organisation Rise Against Hunger. The final component will be the grocery collection from Sunway staff for distribution to the urban poor.
The #ZeroFoodWastage initiative was started by Selangor princess Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah last year.
“I’m very much looking forward to the day when there are no more hungry people to feed. I’m delighted that Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa has chosen to champion this programme on a larger scale this year, as it will be rolled out across all Sunway Hotels and Resorts in Malaysia.”
The Kechara Soup Kitchen Society has been feeding the poor, finding them jobs and providing them basic medical aid and counselling since 2006.
Separately, Bernama reported the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail attended the launch of ‘Value Food No Waste’ campaign in Arau.
The inaugural campaign was jointly organised by Perlis Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) in collaboration with Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) and Kangar Municipal Council (MPK).
At the event, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin reiterated his suggestion last year that people in Perlis should bring their own food containers such as tiffin while buying meals.
“I want the people to think and practice the world class culture and mentality by only buying what they need to control expenses and to avoid food wastage.
“This practice is not only able to reduce plastic waste but also for cleaner environment and this behaviour shows the people to be of world class mentality.”
Perlis SWCorp director Mohd Hidy Md Dzahir said the initiative to bring food containers – as suggested by his majesty while shopping at the Ramadan bazaar – would reduce the use of plastic bags and polystyrene.
The campaign was based on the National Blue Ocean Strategy by distributing flyers on plastic usage reduction campaign to promote the use of tiffin and other reusable containers.
“Our message have some impact as shoppers are seen bringing their food containers and. This practice is in line with the objectives of environmental sustainability that will also improve the quality of life.”