Futian sets up food banks to help reduce waste

A sanitation worker uses his mobile phone to select food at a food bank in Futian District yesterday. Sun Yuchen

Futian District has launched a food bank program that encourages businesses to donate surplus food or food that is near expiration in a bid to reduce food waste and help people in need.

Using the iShenzhen app, residents can select items to collect for free anytime at the food banks, including meat, vegetables, fruits, bread and drinks. The food banks are self-service machines at specific locations in the district.

At present, six food banks have been set up in six subdistricts. The number is expected to reach 10 by the end of the year, covering all subdistricts in Futian.

The service is currently open to low-income residents, such as sanitation and gardening workers, and people with special needs, such as childless senior citizens.

“As of yesterday, a total of 19,500 items had been given out since the food banks were launched on a pilot basis May 31, saving about 9.5 metric tons of food and cutting 19 tons of carbon dioxide emissions,” Qi Menghui, executive secretary of Shenzhen Futian Ecological Civilization Promotion Association, told Shenzhen Daily yesterday.

The association, a nonprofit organization established in 2014, operates the food bank program. The donated items had benefited over 4,200 citizens, according to statistics.

The program aims to create a long-term mechanism for saving food and reducing waste in Futian, according to Tang Yuhong, head of the district’s civil affairs bureau.

“By reducing the source of food waste and increasing care for residents, we hope to tangibly help people working and living in the district,” Tang said, adding that the bureau will work to get more businesses and people involved in the program to help prevent food waste.

Hema Fresh, a retail unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is one of the 11 businesses participating in the program, and it had donated over 4,000 items as of Oct. 19.

Every night after closing, Hema Fresh’s Yitian store would pack the prepared fruits, vegetables, bread and other food that are close to their expiration dates and donate them to the food bank near the Metro station entrance on the first floor of Yitian Building, Fubao Subdistrict.

Shang Jun, the retailer’s operating director in Shenzhen, said that Hema Fresh got involved because it wants to play a leading role in encouraging society to conserve more resources.

Meituan Maicai, the grocery unit of service-focused e-commerce titan Meituan, donates to the food bank on the first floor of Kaisa Center in Nanyuan Subdistrict. The food bank is staffed with a volunteer to offer help.

“I learned that there is such a food bank from the community staff. I didn’t know how to use it at first, but now I can use it smoothly with the volunteer’s help,” said a citizen surnamed Lan.

Through the program, the district aims to save 70 metric tons of food, reduce 140 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and benefit more residents each year.