A fruitful first year for Food-Co

Publish Date: 06-Jul-2018

To reduce food waste and promote the spirit of sharing, St James’ Settlement launched Food-Co, a food support collaborative platform, in May last year with funding from the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund). Ms Connie Ng, senior manager for charity services at St James’ Settlement, reported at a media briefing on 26 June that since its inception Food-Co had collected 192 tonnes of food to make 2.59 million meals for those in need. On average, the platform provided 7,101 meals to 3,215 people each day.

Ms Ng pointed out that Food-Co started its operations only serving Kwai Tsing, Kwun Tong, and Yuen Long districts. Since then, the distribution points in these three districts has increased from twenty-seven to forty-seven, and the amount of meals provided had also doubled, exceeding service targets. Since November last year, Food-Co’s operations has expanded to all eighteen districts in Hong Kong. The number of distribution points has reached 221, and over 330 different companies and organizations have become food donors.

On the same day, there was a ceremony in which Food-Co recognized the contribution of its partners, and it was graced by Mr Matthew Cheung, the chief secretary for administration. Mr Cheung said that he once visited the food bank run by St James’ Settlement when he was the secretary for labour and welfare. After the visit, he persuaded the chief executive and the financial secretary to set up a food assistance service project, hoping that it would facilitate the creation of a caring atmosphere in society.