Councils rescue 830kg unsold food

MORE than 830kg of unsold food was collected from six Ramadan bazaars in Ampang Jaya and Kuala Selangor as of April 3.

The food was redistributed to the needy during the fasting month as part of the MySaveFood programme by non-governmental organisation Pertubuhan Pemuda Gerakan Mahasiswa (Gema).

Gema’s project was combined with Ampang Jaya Municipal Council’s (MPAJ) Sustainable Ramadan Bazaar campaign which was carried out by the local council’s Health and Environment Department to ensure unsold food at bazaars was not wasted.

In a statement, MPAJ said the food was collected from three Ramadan bazaars in Ampang Jaya namely Bandar Baru Ampang, Pandan Indah and Bukit Indah.

“As of April 3, a total of 366.5kg of unsold food has been distributed to mosques and the destitute.

“About 272.5kg of used cooking oil was also collected from these bazaars.”

MPAJ said the effort was aimed at addressing food wastage and promoting environmental sustainability during Ramadan.

The programme involved volunteers who collected unsold food from bazaar traders and redistributed them to the needy.

“During the campaign period, visitors were also advised on the plastic-free campaign.

“It is hoped that such initiatives will continue to raise awareness among the public and lead to a significant reduction of landfill waste by 2030.”

Similarly, Kuala Selangor Municipal Council (MPKS) collected 464.2kg of unsold food between March 27 and April 3 from the Ramadan bazaars in front of Kompleks Pejabat Iada (Integrated Agricultural Development Area), Lotus’s Kuala Selangor and Jalan KP/1 Tanjong Karang.

“Locations where the food was distributed included Rumah Tunas Harapan Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Kuala Selangor.

“Volunteers were from Selangor Technical Skills Development Centre (STDC) and Kolej Intra Kuala Selangor, supported by Bukit Melawati service office,” MPKS said in a statement.

MPAJ and MPKS’ efforts were in line with a call by Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to local authorities to implement programmes to collect surplus food at Ramadan bazaars in their respective areas.

Amirudin said that since the MySaveFood initiative was introduced four years ago, the amount of unsold food collected has increased every year.

He said 859kg of food was collected in 2021, followed by 2.2 tonnes and 2.9 tonnes the following two years.