By Tan Bee Hooi, INTI International College Penang
Food surplus occurs when the supply of food exceeded the demand. Therefore, Green Hero Penang, a social enterprise, initiated a food rescue movement after realizing the enormous amount of edible food being thrown and wasted while many suffer from hunger and starvation.
To show support for the movement, INTI International College Penang Cambridge A Levels (CAL) programme organized a Food Surplus Awareness Campaign with the objective to create awareness among the INTI community about the impact and issue of food surplus. Lecturers and students have worked together to turn edible surplus fruits into new food. Surplus fruits were collected for free or at a lower price from nearby fruit sellers.
All products were sold during the fund-raising campaign held on 29 September 2022 at level 5 of the IICP campus. A total of 35kg surplus fruits were saved as a result of this event. Meanwhile, RM701 was raised from the two-hour campaign selling popsicles, cakes, brownies, jelly and homemade jam (Made by student volunteers and lecturers using the surplus fruits collected).
Fund raised from the campaign was donated to the Penang Green Hero organization to support B40 families in need of food supplies. The event’s highlight was a talk on how to reduce food waste by the invited speaker Mr. Calvin Chan, the founder of Green Hero Penang.