To reduce food waste, an increasing number of Singaporeans are redistributing and consuming food usually thrown out by shops and deemed unsellable. DANIELLE PEK finds out more.
SG Food Rescue volunteers after rescuing edible but unsellable food from a supermarket. Photo courtesy of Ms Diana Teo.
Ms Diana Teo sits under her void deck on a Sunday afternoon as a familiar family of five passes by. She greets them with a smile and reminds them to stop by her home to collect the bread she had rescued that day.
Ms Teo, 67, is an organiser of food rescue events, bringing a group of people together to collect unsold food from supermarkets, hotels, bakeries and more, and redistributing them to people who believe in the practice of cutting down food waste.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the amount of food waste generated in Singapore reached 817,000 tonnes in 2021, marking a significant 22 per cent increase from the previous year.
With the increasing amount of food waste generated, more Singaporeans are quickly turning to food rescues to reduce the impact food waste has on our environment and people.
“When I started rescuing food, I became very inspired to do more, seeing the many tonnes of totally edible food being thrown away,” said Ms Teo.
Apart from individual food-rescuers who run on a volunteer basis, there has been a rise in larger organisations joining in the fight against food wastage in Singapore.
Mr Preston Wong, Chief Executive Officer and co-Founder of Treatsure said, “There’s been tremendous growth in our sales and user base figures.” He attributes this to the recent increase in awareness and acceptance of technology and sustainability trends among Singaporeans.
The co-founder of the app which connects consumers to F&B establishments with food surpluses to distribute food that would otherwise be thrown away, credits their success to the concept of providing a “treat for everybody while helping to reduce waste,” he added.
Mr Daniel Tay who volunteers for Fridge Restock Community SG told The Straits Times in June 2022 that the previous year, his group salvaged an average of 3,000kg of food per week. But this year, the amount has risen to 6,000kg a week, enough to feed at least 500 families for a week.
“When I started rescuing food, I became very inspired to do more, seeing the many tonnes of totally edible food being thrown away.”
Mr Tay is a pioneer among the growing community of people who collect food that is edible, but may not be suitable for sale.
The rescued food is then given to people who do not mind consuming ‘ugly’ or less-fresh food than what is sold commercially. Unfortunately, many Singaporeans still have the misconception that rescued food is not safe for consumption.
The findings from a study conducted by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and consulting firm Deloitte, shows that about 26,000 tonnes of food are thrown away annually, including expired and spoiled food due to improper storage.
The study also concludes that about $342 million worth of food is wasted in Singapore annually, revealing the gravity of Singapore's food waste problem.
Student Audrey Goh, 17, learned about Treatsure a year ago from her friends who were using the app. Since then, she has shifted from being a consumer of rescued food to actively rescuing food herself.
“I really hope to see more people accepting rescued food and becoming more educated about it,” said Audrey Goh who wants to encourage more people to consume rescued food despite its appearance or its expiry date. She added, “Expired food does not mean it has gone bad, as long as it tastes and smells all right.”
With the effect of Covid-19 challenging Singapore’s food security, more Singaporeans are choosing to rescue food as well as consume rescued food.
“I really hope to see more people accepting rescued food and becoming more educated about it.”
Under Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, our government has rolled out the ‘30-by-30’ initiative which aims to have 30 per cent of Singapore's nutritional needs locally and sustainably sourced by 2030, to build a more resilient food future.
Food rescue initiatives have helped many Singaporeans during this period of low food-security as families are able to get the food they need with no cost, while also contributing to Singapore's food sustainability.
The long queues that form round the block for some of these food rescue collections are testimony to the fact that many Singaporeans have the same mindset, to save the cost and the food.
“Expired food does not mean it has gone bad, as long as it tastes and smells all right.”
As the saying goes, food should feed people, not bins.
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