THE demand for food from the low-income group has been on the rise since the beginning of this year, keeping Malaysia’s sustainability-led food bank The Lost Food Project (TLFP) busy.

TLFP said the demand for food has increased by about 30% since January this year.

Labelling itself as a food rescue civil society group since its founding in 2016, TLFP fights hunger and climate change by tackling food waste. 

It rescues surplus food and other non-food products from going to landfills, and redistributes them to over 80 charities and thousands of B40 families.

“We have seen an increase (for food aid). In April last year, we were feeding about 20,000 families (providing about 787,000 meals per month) and since then, it has increased to 100,000 people (30,000 families) a month this year,” said TLFP public relations and communication manager Gayathri Liew.

“Since April 2023 to March 2024, TLFP has rescued two million kg of food and provided five million meals. The more we rescue, the more people we can feed,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

She said 80% of the food and goods are distributed to 33 PPRs around Klang Valley, with 20% going to over 80 charities and civil society groups for distribution to the needy.

Gayathri said that on average, more than 4,000 tonnes of edible food are thrown away daily.

According to the Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp), in 2023, about 846,000 tonnes of domestic garbage were collected, of which 44.5% was food wastage.

Gayathri said the primary core objective of the organisation is to rescue “lost” food and redistribute it to the people that are in need. 

“About 80% of the people we distribute to are B40 families from the low-cost flats around Klang Valley. We are serving more than 30 PPRs, we also work with the PPRs to raise awareness amongst the community.

“The rest are given to orphanages, senior citizens homes and other charities.”

 She said that their trucks deliver food daily to the PPRs. 

Once a week, about 30 to 40 charities will come to collect the food at the TLFP warehouse in Chan Sow Lin, Kuala Lumpur.

She said that 80% of the raw material they collect come from the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market, with collection reaching about 191 tonnes a month.

“We collect the surplus vegetables that the traders cannot sell. Some of the vegetables we rescue are leafy greens, root vegetables and fruits such as kai lan, bok choy, cucumber, potatoes, carrots, Chinese broccoli, Chinese cabbage, green beans, cauliflower as well as oranges, melons, grapes, and other produce. 

“We go to collect the fresh produce from Monday to Saturday and deliver them daily on a rotational basis to the PPRs.

“We also get 20% of goods from our supply chain. These are dry goods such as Milo packets, instant noodles, rice and other products.

“We usually get the products a few months before the expiration dates from the companies that have been collaborating with us over the years.”

Gayathri also welcomes those who want to volunteer as they could use the extra help.

“We get about 150 volunteers each month that come in to help. They come in twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays to aid us.

“They are from corporate groups, community groups, students and individuals aged between 15 years old to 75 years old.

“We also have regular volunteers who have been with us for years.”

She added that they also have “Bread Rescue” volunteer drivers who pick up bread from the bakeries and deliver them directly to the needy within their vicinity. 

Gayathri said that as an organization that helps the poor, they rely 100% on the generosity of others. 

“The funding we get are from individuals and corporate donors, sponsorships, foundations and grants.”

Those who are interested in TLFP can drop them a message on Instagram. – May 5, 2024.