Do they throw them out? Do they donate them? Do they have a potluck party with the food every night?

We don’t really know for sure, but one thing we do know is that one local retailer is doing their part to feed the homeless and end hunger.

Daily meal donations

The local retailer, Tesco Malaysia, is on an ongoing effort to reduce food waste.

Since 2016, the company, in collaboration with Kechara Soup Kitchen and Food Aid Foundation, has donated 4.8 million meals made of unsold but still edible foods like fruits, vegetables and bakery.

What started as a small-scale project from two Tesco stores have now expanded to all 60 stores nationwide, with food surplus donated daily from across Malaysia.

“In Tesco, we believe that ‘Every Little Helps’. By collaborating with Food Aid Foundation and Kechara Soup Kitchen, we are not only reducing the waste of our unsold but edible food but ensuring that the underprivileged do not go to sleep in hunger,” Tesco Chief Executive Officer Paul Ritchie said.

“This ongoing effort, which to date resulted in 4.8 million meals donated is especially relevant as we celebrate United Nation’s World Food Day on 16 October. It is important to reflect that we still have more work to be done if we were to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 of eliminating global hunger by 2030,” he added.

Doing their part to end hunger

Inspired by the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) addresses global challenges related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice.

There are 17 SDGs all interconnected to ensure global sustainability, targeted to be achieved by 2030. And eliminating global hunger or Zero Hunger falls under SDG2.

“Tesco’s sustainable initiative with their surplus food through the Food Aid Foundation is laudable in eradicating hunger and nourishing hope to the underprivileged, in line with United Nations SDG2. We are hopeful that more corporates can echo this initiative and join in this great effort in combating poverty and reducing food waste in our country,” Food Aid Foundation Founder Rick Chee said.

Kechara Soup Kitchen Operations Director Justin Cheah also believes that more corporates should model after the way Tesco’s handles food surplus.

"Tesco creative dealing with food wastage problems in Malaysia had not only allowed many underprivileged homes to benefit from the surplus food donation programme but had also directly contributed to the growth of food-banking in Malaysia. More hypermarkets and food manufacturers should follow suit by emulating the example set by Tesco,” he said.

Besides that, Tesco is also one of the main supporters of Food Bank Universiti Malaya’s (UM) initiative to help as many as 200 underprivilege students on campus.

Putting in extra effort

The retailer is also committed to assist Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Food Bank, which will be launched at the end of October.

On top of that, Tesco has also been working closely with Yayasan Food Bank since the latter was established in August 2018.

As of September 2019, Yayasan Food Bank’s outreach has benefited 362,699 underprivileged households.