Food Bank For The Urban Poor

  Inner Wheel Club of Kuala Lumpur

19 December 2019

 

 

In our modern society, there are many urban communities that are marginalised. Their earnings are far below the minimum wage. Everyday is a struggle to bring food to the table.

 

In Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, a group and the Member of Parliament is trying very hard to bring them out of poverty. One of the ways is to provide food to the poor on a weekly basis until they are able to be  independent. This Food Bank team is fully run by volunteers. Their goal is to redistribute excess food to close the loop to zero waste, working in partnership with Food Aid Foundation. Food is distributed every Thursday in Lembah Subang PPR Project Perumahan Rakyat Dewan C from 3 to 5 pm to 114 families

 

The Inner Wheel Club of Kuala Lumpur decided to sponsor basic staple food to every family and at the same time, empower the parents and children by organising a cooking demonstration for the children to enable them to cook simple healthy meals on their own.  The first sponsorship was held on 19th December 2019 and the next has been targetted in April 2020.

 

The Honourable Member of Parliament, Maria Chin Abdullah, and State Representative, the Honourable Halimey Abu Bakar were present to launch the project. Inner Wheel National Representative Mrs Juanita Lee was present to give her full support.

 

A creativity contest using Ecobricks was also organised to encourage the families to work together on combating plastic waste.  40 pots of organic herbs and plants was also donated to encourage the mothers to grow plants organically in their small confined homes. They were given seeds, fertilizer and a regular sized pot to grow baby spinach. A colouring contest for the younger children made the event a wholesome family affair with prizes sponsored by National Representative Mrs Juanita Lee.

 

Overall, it was truly an afternoon of very happy parents and their children. Inner Wheel Kuala Lumpur members had worked very hard and were empowered to do their bit for society. Looking forward to the next partnership in April 2020.  Click here to view photos.