CIVIL society groups are continuing to help the needy and marginalised by providing much-needed food aid amid the high cost of living and sluggish economy.

They said be it the Orang Asli community, orphanage, disabled, old folk or students, all of them are in need of food daily.

The groups said while there are food banks, more aid  needs to be provided.

Royal Malaysian Air Force Major (Rtd) Peter Yeow, who is the secretary of Pertubuhan Komuniti Kasih Selangor, told The Malaysian Insight that they are currently helping the Orang Asli community in Lipis and Raub, Pahang.

He said they are taking care of five villages with up to 160 families.

“We go to Pahang every Saturday and we split into teams to cover the villages. Whatever we have, we give out to about 70 families while the rest will get their goods on our next trip,” he said.

“The Orang Asli here are poverty-stricken and marginalised. There is always a need for food and other aid.”

However, Yeow said when the country started to recover last year, things got worse for the Orang Asli.

“We understand the government and Jakoa (Orang Asli Development Department) are doing what they can to help, but the need (for more food) is still there,” he said.

“Since last year, we have had an additional 40 families seeking aid.

“More needs to be done by the government and Jakoa, especially for those living deep in the jungle.”

He said over the past years, The Lost Food Project (TLFP) has been helping to provide vegetables and dry foodstuffs for the Orang Asli.

“We usually collect the goods on Thursday and deliver them on Saturday. So we tend to take more durable vegetables such as carrots and cabbages,” he said.

“There are also dry food products such as milk powder for the children.

“We do receive cash aid from donors and we use the money for dry food products.”

TLFP is a non-profit food bank committed to redistributing surplus food and non-food essentials to more than 80 civil society groups and thousands of B40 families.

In an earlier interview, its chief executive officer Ariffin Buranudeen told The Malaysian Insight that the number of people needing food aid has grown by 30% in the past 12 months.

He said last year, TLFP saved 16,000 tonnes of food. In 2021, it was 12,000 tonnes. It is currently helping 20,000 recipients a month.

Ariffin said in March – TLFP’s highest collection month to date – the team “rescued” 233,000kg of fruit and vegetables from Kuala Lumpur wholesale market, 8,400kg of fresh produce, 8,100kg of bakery products, 13,100kg of dry groceries and 1,100kg of meat and seafood.

He said most of TLFP’s food is sourced from about 30 corporate donors, who give surplus or sponsor the dry goods.

Ariffin said TLFP also has a team that “rescue” bread from the bakeries. The food is collected at night and passed on to the B40 group, students, low-cost housing residents and those on the streets.

Poor and Needy Ministry founder Jenny Moo, who helps three centres in Kajang, Selangor, said they are trying their best to aid the needy.

“We are trying to help because they (centres) don’t have enough and they depend on handouts,” she said.

“We also don’t have regular sponsors for the homes. They are like living from hand to mouth.

“They get two full meals a day when they have sponsors, but sometimes, it is a meal a day if there is not enough supply.

“By getting supplies here (TLFP), the food at the homes can last for three to four days. But they are all vegetarian meals. The people here also need meat, which is lacking.

“If we are lucky, the homes get about three chickens a week, but that is not enough for them.”

Moo said she provides food aid for three centres in Kajang – an old folks’ and mentally disabled home with 20 occupants, an all girls’ home with 13 children and an orphanage with 19 Myanmar children.

She hoped the government can look into subsidising meat products so that the residents of the homes can get more protein.

Anub Kumar, who works as a coordinator for SOLS 24/7 Malaysia, said they are currently helping 60 Orang Asli students.

The centre, which is located in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, is a free hostel that provides training for underprivileged students on solar panel installation.

He said it provides training, lodging, food and information technology and English lessons.

“As we are a charity organisation, the food aid we get is for the students here,” he said.

“We provide them with three meals a day. So we are grateful for the aid from TLFP.”

He said most of the Orang Asli students hail from Perak and Kelantan. – April 28, 2023.