Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: charity on nutrition mission with meals programme for people in need
- Feeding Hong Kong collects 65,000 surplus mooncakes this year alone and redistributes them to almost 100 charities
- Organisation has supplied foodstuffs for more than 21 million meals since it was founded in 2011 by Gabrielle Kirstein
Feeding Hong Kong distributed the mooncakes they collected around the festival to 95 charity partners as part of its nutrition mission.
The charity has saved more than 6,000 tonnes (6613 tons) of surplus food and provided the ingredients for more than 21 million meals since it was founded in 2011 by Gabrielle Kirstein.
“We collect surplus stock from food companies, sort it, store it, and redistribute it to multiple charities across the city, efficiently serving a diverse group of people,” she explained.
Kirstein recognised tonnes of good food ended up in the bin every day, but, at the same time, many in the city struggled to afford three meals a day, which spurred her into action.
Feeding Hong Kong first started in 2009 as a volunteer food rescue project and delivered fresh leftovers from bakeries to city crisis shelters.
But its mission later expanded into a bid to bridge the gap between companies with surplus food and charities in need.
Kirstein said Feeding Hong Kong established its first warehouse in 2011 when it was registered as a charity.
“Now, with more than 11,500 square feet of storage space, we are equipped to handle multiple pallets of surplus food each day and we have the necessary expertise to efficiently manage them, whether they come from a local bakery or a large-scale distributor,” she said.
The charity’s warehouses are equipped with temperature control systems to ensure that food donations, such as packaged rice, are kept in optimal conditions.
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Kirstein said Feeding Hong Kong was a charity for other charitable groups and operated as a central clearing house, focused on food collection, storage and distribution.
Feeding Hong Kong has continued to innovate in its efforts to prop up frontline charities through the launch of its mobile food pantry, which brings a pop-up selection of chilled, frozen and packaged goods to their doorsteps.
Kirstein said the mobile pantry scheme tackled three problems often faced by charities on the front line – limited storage space, lack of transport, and the absence of “cold chain” temperature control for perishables.
Now Feeding Hong Kong has been selected as a finalist in the annual Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post and property developer Sino Group, in the Spirit of Teamwork category.
The awards were designed to highlight the achievements of remarkable people and organisations whose work might otherwise go unnoticed.
Funding for Feeding Hong Kong comes from a variety of sources, including the business world, foundations, family offices, community groups, as well as individuals.
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The charity also receives pro bono products and services from corporate partners.
“During Covid, we saw a significant increase in donations from individual donors. It’s been truly heartwarming to witness how much Hong Kong people’s care for the environment and community has grown over the years,” Kirstein said.
She added that too many cooks did not spoil the broth in Feeding Hong Kong’s case because its success was only possible because of a team of volunteers, backed up by 30 full-time staff and six committed board members.
“The invaluable support of more than 200 volunteers each week plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of our operations,” Kirstein said.
She emphasised that teamwork was a major factor in ensuring the fast collection of food from a variety of sources and just-in-time delivery to different destinations.
