The Malaysian Insight

WELL-MEANING but misguided efforts by Malaysians to feed the poor have led to a new problem of food wastage, said charity organisations.

While it is good that many people and groups have stepped up to help the less fortunate in a time of pandemic, their inexperience and naivety have led to food going to waste, they said.

During a visit to a collection centre in the city recently, Batu MP P. Prabakaran discovered that more than half the donated food was discarded because the receivers took what they liked and left the rest.

Jully Yap Ooi Lee, chairman of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Yuan Meng charity group, said many donors don’t understand the “real needs” or how to go about meeting them.

“They allow the recipients to pick and choose, which results in wastage,” she said.

Donors who wish to distribute food to the poor should be aware of religious sensitivities and human traits and adjust their contributions accordingly, said Yap.

For example, she said, they could bring halal items that are acceptable to everyone.

“And it is good to give bread and biscuits that the people can keep to eat later when they get hungry again,” she said.

Yap suggests that these compassionate folk shift their attention from the city’s homeless shelters, which already have many regular donors, to the poor in the Chinese new villages and urban low-cost housing schemes.

“In the collection centres or homeless shelters, there are many kind individuals distributing meals. There will be an oversupply if there are too many donors.

“If there were not many donors, the recipients would not dare to throw food away for fear of hunger.”

Yap said her observations over the years show that about 20% of the recipients do not finish their food or discarded some of it.

‘No lunch box is wasted’

She said because of a lack of a system for the various groups to communicate with one another and coordinate their food distribution efforts, there are often overlapping deliveries.

“There are many people who need help but every group is doing its own thing. There is no way to exchange information to avoid clashing.”

Malaysia Shan Xin Charity and Welfare Organisation founder Wong Ing Tong said the MPs are usually consulted when food programmes are being planned in their constituencies.

“The reps know their areas and understand their constituents better than we do,” he said.

Every lunch box is planned with a recipient in mind to prevent loss and wastage, he said.

Low Kwan Yim, who volunteers at the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Yuan Meng charity group, said each person is restricted to taking two portions for himself.

“If they say there are more in the family who need to eat, we will ask them for the address and deliver the meal directly to them,” he said.

“This is to ensure that no lunch box is wasted.

“In addition, the questions we ask allow us to find out more about them and whether they need other assistance.”

He agrees that generosity should be tempered with prudence when helping the needy.

“Donating without knowledge can easily lead to wastage. It is recommended that one first understands the situation and the needs of those you are giving to.” – December 31, 2020.