Hong Kong Sevens: 940kg of leftover stadium food helps feed 1,600 needy people
- Food Angel’s Zoe Lee says Hong Kong Sevens is their biggest source of rescued food
- Leftovers distributed to elderly and low-income families
Almost 1,000 kilograms of food was left over from last year’s Hong Kong Sevens, enough to feed about 1,600 people – and none of it went to waste, according to a local food “rescue” organisation.
Zoe Lee, associate CEO of Food Angel, said the Hong Kong Sevens is an annual bonanza in terms of leftover food with 120,000 people munching on a variety of menus offered by dozens of outlets at the Hong Kong Stadium over three days.
“The Hong Kong Sevens is definitely one of the biggest events for us,” said Lee, speaking at a function to celebrate the second anniversary of the HSBC Try Rugby development programme.
“We have other small events in hotels or sometimes from banquets. We have associations with certain hotels so we can take food from there, but for major, large-scale events, the rugby sevens is the biggest.”
Food Angel “rescues” about 5 tonnes of edible surplus food every day from more than 200 donors and recycles the haul by cooking and packaging it in centres around Hong Kong. The food is then distributed to those in need.
“Last year, we collected about 940 kilograms in total [at the Hong Kong Sevens] and we prepared about 900 meals and about 700 food packs.”
Hot meals represent cooked food with rice and veggies, which Lee said are the basic components of a proper meal. Food packs comprise dry foods, fruits and vegetables that cannot be cooked.
“They go to the needy community,” said Lee, whose organisation is sponsored by HSBC. “About 70 per cent of our beneficiaries are the elderly, 20 per cent are low income families and the rest are street sleepers or those who stay in subdivided flats.”
The partnership with Food Angel is part of efforts by Hong Kong Sevens organisers to enhance sustainability at the stadium and the Sevens Village nearby.
At the press conference for the Try Rugby programme – a partnership between the bank, the HKRU and the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) – it was revealed more than 30,000 children in Hong Kong had been introduced to rugby via the campaign.
In addition, 469 teachers and 250 schools have taken part in the initiative and more than 145 PE undergraduate students from the EdUHK have taken the course.
Kevin Martin, HSBC regional head of retail banking and wealth management ASP, said: “As we enter one of the most exciting weeks in the Hong Kong sporting calendar, it fills me with pride to be able to share the positive impact the programme has had introducing rugby to schoolchildren in Hong Kong, and the support it lends for the sustainable development of rugby in the Hong Kong community.
“Initiatives such as these are integral to the long term success of the sport.”
