CONVERGENCE MAR-APR2017

Inspiration
WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
TLFP was formed in October 2015. Since
February 2016, it has saved more than
300,000 kilogrammes food and counting.
This translates to roughly 500,000 meals
if each meal weighed 600 grammes.
Currently, TLFP works with five food
partners and are involved in meeting
supermarket loading bay managers,
discussing the best way to save food
that is thrown out daily. Mooney said,
"They give us a preferred time and day
to collect the food and our volunteers
meet and oversee the process." She
said some food are delivered directly to
charity recipients while others are picked
up from a designated area. These
surplus food are rejected by
supermarkets for various reasons and
this include wrong packaging, wrong
weight and incorrect shapes.
TLFP'S SUPPORT GROUPS
Mooney said, "We have received
tremendous support from Mardi
(Malaysian Agricultural Research
and Development Institute),
governmental programme MySAVEFood
and various other government
departments and we are trying to work
together with them on several initiatives.
It has been really inspiring to work with
these organisations."
She added that, "We are also in touch
with various other NGOs who are tackling
food waste and trying to share data so
as to not recreate the wheel. Through
all these contacts, we have made more
contacts and this has helped to keep the
ball rolling. As for private sponsors and
donations, we have had a few really
generous donours who have helped to
start running our food truck – but we will
Malaysians waste 15,000 tonnes of food daily, according to The Solid Waste Management and
Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp Malaysia)
need more of these soon. These funds
will help run our truck and soon our
warehouse which we hope to be
operational soon."
A HELPING HAND
Some of the organisations that receive
food and or groceries from TLFP include
Lighthouse Children Welfare Home
Association, Malaysian Sociological
Research Institute, Alliance of Chin
Refugees, Women’s AID Organisation,
Kechara and Pertiwi soup kitchens,
Positive Living, Institut Onn Ja'afar,
refugee events under the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR Malaysia) and in the pipeline:
Yayasan Chow Kit and Dignity for
Children Foundation.
WHAT'S IN IT FOR
THE FUTURE?
We are dedicated to education and
awareness and are working with the
schools to educate the younger
generation. We are also working towards
composting those inedible food items.
Sustainability in all forms is in the
forefront of our minds.
One such project is the
#cleanplatechallenge. TLFP hopes
to work with celebrity chefs on
several projects to spread awareness
and raise funds.
Another key area is expanding what they
do. Currently operating within the Klang
Valley, TLFP has plans to expand across
different states in Malaysia but it firmly
states it needs to ensure the smooth
running of its warehouse operations in
Kuala Lumpur.
So, if you're interested, Mooney said,
"Please do get in touch and join the
volunteer community. If you don't have
time to spare, consider helping by
donating funds to ensure we can reduce
the unnecessary environmental damage
and feed the most vulnerable in
Malaysian society. Be part of the change."
Surplus food from Jason's Food Hall
Say cheese!
Freshly-baked croissants ready for
hungry tummies!
Drop an email at: info@thelostfoodproject.org or
donate via: simplygiving.com/social/thelostfoodproject or visit thelostfoodproject.org for more details.
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