How Hong Kong charity J Life Foundation is helping city’s poorest put food on the table

Group aims to provide food packs and electricity bill subsidies to needy households, with drive funded by Operation Santa Claus
Covid-19 pandemic means charity can no longer acquire as much food donated by shops, and has to rely on buying own supplies

Operation Santa Claus

Rachel Yeo

Published: 10:00am, 10 Nov 2020

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As Covid-19 continues to ravage Hong Kong’s economy, low-income families in Sham Shui Po, the city’s poorest district, have been among the hardest hit and struggle just to put food on the table.

Elli Fu, founder and CEO of charity J Life Foundation, hopes to introduce more measures to alleviate their problems. The charity has worked towards tackling income inequality and food waste since 2012.

Under a project called “J Life @ Fighting Covid-19”, her charity aims to provide free food, electricity bill subsidies, and start a community resource platform for more than 200 needy families.

Elli Fu Nga-nei, founder and CEO of J Life Foundation Limited, at the NGO's food bank on Tai Nan Street in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Felix Wong

The project is backed by Operation Santa Claus, the annual fundraiser jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK. J Life Foundation is one of the 19 beneficiaries of this year’s campaign, which has helped more than 287 charity projects and raised HK$316 million (US$40.7 million) since 1988.

One of their main services is to get surplus food for free from various food banks and businesses in the community, but the pandemic has thrown hurdles into their path.

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“Covid-19 made a lot of these shops close or have bad business, so now we need to buy the food ourselves,” Fu said, adding the free food from her usual suppliers had dropped by at least 30 per cent.

She plans to use funds from OSC to buy food staples for the charity packs distributed, including essentials such as rice and cooking oil.

Additionally, the programme seeks to empower community members via a new resource platform. Fu has recruited about six long-time volunteers to help in food distribution duties, as she understands these workers have been out of work for months.

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At the same time, the volunteers will also have the opportunity to learn how to source and compare wholesale food prices, which can potentially cut their personal grocery expenses by half.

But Fu also wants to go beyond food assistance and education. For the first time, J Life Foundation will provide electricity bill subsidies for three months for beneficiaries, who will receive up to HK$300 per month.

She also noted that electricity bills were rising for these households, as many were forced to stay indoors with social-distancing measures in force. While the government is providing electricity subsidies for low-income households, some fall through the net, as their landlords may not pass the cost savings on to them.

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“There is a service gap,” Fu said. “But HK$300 a month is also some money to help them survive for these few months.”

So far, families getting support from the charity have been receptive to the extra help.

“They feel positive and hopeful. At this moment, it is difficult for everyone, but they are still happy, because they know they are getting help from many people,” Fu said.

You can make donations to Operation Santa Claus here.

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