How a few Hong Kong NGOs help those in need feast during the holidays
Efforts include salvaging surplus food from hotels and collecting ingredients before they are processed
As Christmas draws near and many get ready for holiday dinners, local food charities expect to collect plenty of leftover food or distribute it to those in need.
Hong Kong is known to generate food waste on a massive scale – some 3,600 tonnes daily, according to the Environment Bureau. The figure translates to 0.13 tonne of wasted food per resident per year. That is almost double the per capita figures for Seoul or Taipei.
The Post talked to variouslocal NGOs serving the needy about their missions during holiday periods and how their projects aim to bring joy to the underprivileged at Christmas, the Winter Solstice Festival and Lunar New Year.
Foodlink
This local NGO collects surplus food from hotels in the city and delivers it to people in need. This year marks the group’s fourth consecutive Christmas drive. Chief operations officer Joyce Chan said one tonne of food was collected during last year’s holiday, and she expects “a similar amount of leftover food” for the group’s team of nine to collect.
Chan said the salvaged food would be immediately distributed to 12 partner NGOs and benefit over 800 people. But she added that, even with its deliveries, the food generated during Christmas still exceeded demand. Under Foodlink policy, rescued food is to be consumed within 24 hours.
Food Angel
Contrary to how Foodlink collects hot meals directly from hotels, Food Angel rescues food ingredients in the kitchen before they are processed. This year marks the group’s first Christmas party for its beneficiaries, who hail from lower-income backgrounds.
Food Angel said it had been receiving turkey and ham, allowing it to prepare a more western meal for its beneficiaries who mostly have Chinese food.
Pei Ho Charity Foundation
The charity founded by culinary Good Samaritan Chan Cheuk-ming is preparing to hand out free meals around the Winter Solstice. Although Pei Ho Charity Foundation is not a food rescue programme, it has routinely given out free meals to those in need in Sham Shui Po.
The charity recently ended its fundraising campaign in Central to distribute over 40,000 free meals next year to the city’s poor. It also announced it would prepare hot meals for the holidays. According to charity spokesman Ming Lau, holiday meals are to include traditional festive foods such as shrimps and mushrooms.
St. James’ Settlement
This 67-year-old charitable organisation looks to extend its food bank programme into its 12th year. According to Ng Man Yin, a senior manager at the charity, the programme last year collected over 4,000 baskets of dried food from companies and housing estates around Lunar New Year.
“Most of our service users are from low-income families,” she said. Ng remembered a teenager who was born and raised in Hong Kong telling her last year she was able to taste her first Ferrero Rocher chocolate.
In addition to distributing dried food to the local underprivileged, the organisation provides free meals to over 3,700 people each month.
