SOCIAL enterprise What A Waste (WAW) is marking its annual food rescue initiative at Ramadan bazaars with a new collaboration that will benefit more communities under Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ).

“This year we are partnering with Residents’ Representatives Councils (MPP) in Zones 1 to 4,” said WAW chief corporate officer Alvin Chen.

“They will help us distribute unsold food from Ramadan bazaars to B40 communities or surau in their zones.

“We are happy that, upon approaching the local councillors (who head each MPP) with our collaboration idea, they were receptive to completing our food rescue ecosystem.”

In addition to benefitting more people, he said, the collaboration would take a load off WAW’s volunteers in terms of distribution, leaving them more time to engage and guide bazaar traders on reducing food waste from over-preparation.

Volunteers collecting and weighing unsold food and drinks.

“Constant engagement is crucial to gently remind vendors to be mindful of portions cooked and to reduce wastage whenever possible,” said Chen, who co-founded WAW with his wife Angela Tan.

“For example, we are seeing tremendous improvement at the USJ4 Ramadan bazaar, where WAW has been stationed for several years.

“We collected 408.13kg of unsold food during the first week of Ramadan there last year, but that dropped to 128.16kg during the same period this year.

“Such encouraging results keep us motivated,” he added.

WAW rescues leftover food from events such as weddings and corporate functions, as well as surplus or unsold food from corporations, farms, eateries and bakeries.

The food is then delivered to beneficiaries that include B40 families, welfare homes, Orang Asli and refugee communities, and people living on the streets.

What A Waste it is to not help rescue food.

WAW started its Ramadan food rescue service in 2022, at the USJ4 bazaar, following up a year later with its collaboration with MBSJ.

“In 2024, we rescued 6.081 tonnes of unsold food, excluding cold drinks, from five bazaar locations in the Subang Jaya and Puchong areas,” said Chen.

“This year, we are continuing our third collaboration with MBSJ at five bazaar locations, including new sites at Bandar Kinrara 5 in Puchong and Taman Puncak Jalil in Seri Kembangan.”

With new locations requiring starting anew in terms of building awareness and spreading the message stall by stall, Chen welcomed the opportunity to engage and educate more traders.

“The traders welcome the food rescue concept and are aware that food waste in Malaysia is increasing at an alarming rate.

“I’m also using this as an educational opportunity by roping in student volunteers from different schools and universities to help with WAW’s food rescue mission on a weekly basis.”

This allowed students an opportunity to engage with traders and understand food sustainability on the ground, he said.

“By aligning our mission with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, students will better understand the importance and impact of what we do,” said Chen when met by StarMetro at the Taman Puncak Jalil Ramadan bazaar after he briefed student-volunteers from an international school.

He is also grateful for support from Agrobank this year, as the sponsorship of tents and bunting helped increase WAW’s visibility at Ramadan bazaars.

Chen said WAW planned to develop a one-semester programme for school or university students offering structured community engagement and volunteer work, through activities such as working with food rescue missions and residents’ groups.