pandamart has donated more than 16,000 meals to Food Aid Foundation and Kechara Soup Kitchen to be redistributed to the needy this year alone
Kuala Lumpur, 16 October, 2023 – pandamart, foodpanda’s grocery store designed to deliver customers’ conveniences within one hour, has been making a meaningful contribution to combat food waste and support vulnerable communities through its food surplus donation initiative. In a dedicated effort to reduce food wastage, pandamart has partnered with Food Aid Foundation and Kechara Soup Kitchen.
In a partnership with the two NGOs since February this year, pandamart has been committed to tackling the pressing issue of food surplus and wastage, donating a total of 6,676 kg of food – equivalent to 16,486 meals. Fresh produce such as vegetables, which often goes to waste after its shelf life, is a primary focus of this initiative. This goes in line with the objective of World Food Day – a day held every October 16 to promote global awareness on hunger and food security.
Shintaro Matsuno, Head of pandamart said: “As a popular on-demand grocery delivery platform for our customers, we try our best to minimise wastage by optimising our orders from suppliers ahead of time, tracking our stock data carefully and predicting trends. However, some excess is still unavoidable, especially with having to meet our customers’ expectations for ultra-fresh products delivered to their doorsteps. Hence, we are extremely pleased to be able to work with Food Aid Foundation and Kechara Soup Kitchen in a long-term partnership to redistribute our surplus food which are still edible to those who need it most.”
United Nations Environment Programme 2021 recorded that 91kg of household food waste is generated annually per person in Malaysia, making the country ‘most wasteful’ in Southeast Asia. The Food Waste Behaviour and Awareness of Malaysians report states that only less than 10% of Malaysians really understand the impact food waste has on the planet.
Rick Chee, Founder of Food Aid Foundation said: “We are heartened that foodpanda Malaysia has joined us in our mission to rescue surplus food and distribute it to those in need. The partnership aligns with our vision of creating a world with reduced food wastage and improved access to nutritious meals. This is the first time we are partnering with a q-commerce company so we hope that this will open more doors for us to welcome other such companies too. Throughout our partnership with foodpanda, we’ve managed to donate a total of 16,125 meals, and we aim to continue making a meaningful impact on the lives of the needy in Malaysia.”
To date, pandamart has donated more than 6,000kgs of fresh produce, dried goods and toiletries to both Food Aid Foundation and Kechara Soup Kitchen. In addition, the surplus food redistribution process is streamlined and made efficient with participation of foodpanda’s pandamart outlets in Mont Kiara, Subang, Setapak, KLCC, and Cheras.
“Every morning, our pandamart outlets assess the quality of fresh produce and remove items nearing its shelf life. They will then notify the teams at Food Aid Foundation and Kechara Soup Kitchen of the items. Both teams, in collaboration with volunteers, collect these surplus items and ensure that they are delivered directly to charity homes and the B40 communities at the People’s Housing Projects (PPR)”, said Shintaro.
In conjunction with World Food Day, foodpanda announces that it will also expand the food surplus donation campaign to other pandamart outlets to impact more communities positively.
