A Ramadan bazaar food rescue group is continuing its mission of distributing unsold food to the needy and saving it from ending in the bin.
Perak MySaveFood@Ramadan (MSF) project manager Puteri Aisyah Megat Shariffudin said the initiative, which aimed to create awareness of food wastage, had entered its sixth year, reported Bernama.
She said that on the first day of the programme, which was the fourth day of Ramadan, 126kg of surplus food and beverages were collected from the Taman Cempaka and Silibin bazaars in Ipoh.
The total comprised 58kg of food and 68kg of drinks.
Puteri Aisyah said both bazaars were small with about 40 stalls each, but the surplus food recorded was quite high.
“On average, one stall generates around 1kg of surplus food.
“Every year we conduct awareness campaigns among traders.
“But based on our observation, awareness remains low despite the programme having been implemented for several years now.
“One possible factor is that traders change from year to year,” she said.
This year’s programme in Perak involves 12 bazaars, compared to 15 last year.
The MSF@Ramadan in Perak is being conducted in collaboration with Ipoh City Council (MBI), the Perak Tengah and Tanjong Malim district councils and Teluk Intan Municipal Council.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is pitching in through its “Gerakan Pengguna Siswa” volunteer programme involving university students.
“To strengthen awareness, we are also looking at issuing a ‘red card’ to stalls that repeatedly generate a lot of food surplus,” Puteri Aisyah said.
