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Partners & Projects

Hong Kong: Urban Citizen Food Sharing Platform Project

Project Date:

March 2009 – December 2019

Partners:

Distributed to 28 local organizations in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories

Background

In 2016, EarthCare Foundation identified food waste as a key issue in urban centres. From farming and production, to processing, storage, transportation, sales, and food preparation – we witnessed that waste occurs across the food production and consumption chain.

To combat food waste, we founded a collaborative platform that funds projects and community organisations participating in food recovery efforts. It was a pioneering effort at the time, as food recovery or donation had yet to enter the mainstream dialogue. Through the initiative ECF played a pivotal role in facilitating the establishment the city’s first community food recovery kitchen and promoting the early launch of food recovery programmes across various districts. This programme was later adopted by the HKSAR government and scaled across the city, we are proud to have contributed to this positive transformation.

Project Features

Focused on supporting disadvantaged communities while safeguarding the environment, the project promotes valuing food and protecting the earth. Recovered food is distributed to families in need, helping to ease their financial burden;
The initiative started by recovering and redistributing vegetables from markets across different districts of Hong Kong,
Diverse Participation: Wide range of participats including: district groups, women’s organisations, labour centers, and other community teams;
Focusing on small communities, the project was strategically implemented across limited geographical scope to enable same-day recycling and distribution. This approach reduces energy consumption from transportation and storage;

Integrated with community networks across multiple districts, the project primarily supports families, particularly those receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, as well as low-income earners, the unemployed, the elderly, and others in need.

Project Outcomes

Recovered 6,948.76 tons of food (2009 – 2018), benefiting 3,654,590 people (Apr 2016 – Mar 2019);
The recycling cost per kilogram of food was $3.70. The food recovery volume reached 111% of the target, and the number of beneficiaries achieved 164% of the target;