Food Sharing is a great project that was created to prevent food waste by sending quality food that has expired to our fellow humans, such as the kids in the zoo, and also to various species of wild animals. What is the story behind this? Let’s follow this story from this article.
Eating is a matter of life that is close to everyone. Nowadays, with modern technology, humans can produce enough food to feed people, or it can be called “more than enough”. This results in a major problem of “food loss” because while food production uses a lot of resources and releases a lot of greenhouse gases, more than half of the food produced worldwide is thrown away and never consumed. When fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets have expired, they automatically become worthless and discarded as food waste, even though in reality, a significant amount of the ingredients are still in excellent condition, still have complete nutritional value, and can still be consumed.
The “ Food Sharing Project” was therefore created to prevent food waste by distributing expired, good-quality food.
Selling to those who need it, which in this case means various species of wild animals. Since the raw materials have different levels of expiration date, the project uses a simple principle that if the raw materials are still of excellent quality, they are sent to people to eat. However, if the quality is slightly deteriorated and people cannot eat them, they are sent to animals to eat.
The Practical invites you to follow the mission of delivering fruits and vegetables to animals from Lotus in Rangsit to Mini Zoo Thanyaburi with Khun Pin-Prinyaporn Klinthet, Corporate Sustainability Manager of Lotus Business, the main force behind this project since the beginning and the person who connected the network of Lotus branches with zoos and wildlife breeding centers nationwide.
When human food becomes animal food
At Lotus Rangsit Klong 4 branch, when looking around, you see shelves lined with fresh fruits and vegetables as you would expect. However, the operation of this Lotus branch is more special in that every day, employees separate ingredients that have reached the end of their sales period into two main categories: fruits and vegetables donated to people and donated to animals, in order to reduce the amount of unsold ingredients that have to be thrown away in landfills.
Pin explained that food production is resource-intensive, and when it is thrown into a landfill, it has a major impact on the environment. This is because the accumulation of food waste creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. In addition, piles of food waste are smelly and full of disease vectors such as rats and flies.
“Food waste is a problem that the whole world is working together to solve because it is a problem that creates pollution and greenhouse gases. If we look at past statistics, we will find that 64 percent of waste in Thailand is food waste, which is considered very high.”
This is the origin of the Food Sharing Project , in which Lotus intends to donate vegetables and fruits in good condition but have expired to feed animals in zoos and wildlife breeding centers nationwide through cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
“We started the project in March and have donated to over 8 locations so far. We plan to continue expanding the network,”
Lotus Employees’ World Saving
Every day, Lotus staff at each branch carefully sort the ingredients to prepare for delivery to the zoo the next day. When all the branches are combined, the amount of ingredients delivered to the animals is as much as 40 kilograms per day. They focus on pairing up with the Lotus branch closest to the zoo or wildlife breeding facility to shorten the transportation distance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Mini Zoo Thanyaburi is the first zoo that the Food Sharing Project has started working with, paired with Lotus Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok branch and Lotus Rangsit Khlong 7 branch, with readiness in terms of area, distance, and staff on both the zoo and Lotus sides who are ready to take action.
“ Around nine in the morning, zookeepers will come to collect the food from the branch, then take it back to cut, prepare it on a tray, and serve it as breakfast to the wild animals,” said Ms. Pin with a smile.
But before everything was in place and the project was expanded to 8 areas like today, there were many problems that had to be fixed and improved. Some days, the recipients had problems and were unable to receive the food, or the staff changed staff. As the project manager, Khun Pin would go in and monitor in a timely manner because the challenge of a raw material donation project like this is continuity and speed, because the food can spoil. Therefore, everyone had to work against the clock to some extent so that the food reached the animals in the most complete condition.
Pin continued that another challenge is connecting the staff of each branch with the Food Sharing Project. “Sometimes the staff at the branch will feel that they are just a small position and cannot solve any problems. In fact, that is not the case. They are an important mediator. We have a network to talk to many people. They will be the ones who help coordinate their work to be as smooth as possible. At the same time, we explain to them the importance of this work.”
“ Most workers may not be aware of the broader environmental issues. For example, one of the young people we worked with told us that every time he had to throw out expired food, he felt very sorry because it was still in good condition. We used this as a driving force to show how he was part of the food system and how important our work was to creating sustainability.”
Share to create change
In fact, before becoming the Food Sharing Project, Lotus had been running the “Eat and Don’t Throw Away” project for over 4 years based on the belief that food that is still edible should not be thrown away. Therefore, we donated unsold, high-quality food to foundations and the poor, especially during the COVID- 19 pandemic when many people have been affected economically, lost income, and were unable to buy enough food.
“ We are partners working with many organizations, such as the SOS Thailand Foundation , by donating both vegetables, fruits and ready-to-eat meals. SOS itself not only distributes the ingredients received from us, but also sets up community kitchens, takes the ingredients to cook various menus and distributes them to people who bring their lunch boxes to take home. To date, we have donated more than 2.8 million meals and continue to donate every day.”
Khun Pin explained that the executives are very involved in driving the “Eat and Don’t Throw Away” and “Food Sharing” projects with a vision to reduce food waste, which makes the company’s policies move in the same direction. And the more the projects continue to be carried out consistently, the more tangible results will become apparent, giving employees like Khun Pin, including branch employees, even more inspiration.
Everyone’s daily pride
Not only employees, but also consumers and people outside the company see Lotus’s commitment to driving the reduction of food waste in Thailand. As someone behind the scenes, Pin said that nowadays when she goes to work in the community, when she says she is a Lotus’ team, everyone remembers that we donate quality ingredients and unsold food to those in need. Even the Food Sharing project, which has only been running for less than a year, people see the value and remember the work we do.
“ Consistency has kept our project going until today. We feel very proud that even though we are only a small part of it, it is a part that drives sustainability. A regular job that provides income to support yourself every day can also be meaningful to the community and the world.”
Finally, Pin told us that you don’t have to work directly in this field; everyone can feel good and proud like her. Just finish all the food on your plate. When you go shopping at the supermarket, make a checklist. Plan your meals in advance so you can buy only what you need. Good quality ingredients that are left over and not sold can be sent to be delicious meals for wild animals in a worthwhile way, and not become food waste that creates a burden on the world.
We Adapt, The World Changes The Next Generation: Reduce Food Waste by Sharing
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