According to the Environmental Protection Department, food waste constitutes one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing Hong Kong. In 2020, of the 10,809 tonnes of municipal solid waste that were disposed of at landfills each day, over 30% was food waste, with most of this waste generated from food-related sources such as restaurants, hotels, wet markets, food production and processing industries.
Local food bank Feeding Hong Kong has come to the rescue, tackling the food-waste problem with the launch of a community network programmer in partnership with 14 local food-related brands, restaurants and delivery platforms – including big names like Pizza Express, Deliveroo and Flash Coffee. The network provides 16 collection points around town where the public can donate their surplus food items. Click here for information on the locations of these collection points.
“We are very grateful for our food brand partners’ generous assistance. In Hong Kong, one-fifth of the locals live in poverty and are encountering food insecurity. Through this community network programme, we hope to raise the public’s awareness on existing food-waste issues and encourage the community to start practising a sustainable-eating lifestyle. We hope to educate the public about the importance of making small changes to day-to-day actions and how individual contribution does matter.” – Gabrielle Kirstein, founder of Feeding Hong Kong
Join Feeding Hong Kong’s #CAN5CAN campaign on social media and spread the word! Please donate five canned food items that are still within their shelf lives and then nominate two or three more friends on social media to take part. It takes a village!