Catering institutions advocate food wise and waste reduction and transform the surplus of food ingredients into free lunch boxes for grassroots students

The restaurant prepares a large amount of fresh ingredients every day to cope with daily operations. Where will the remaining ingredients go?

If the ingredients are discarded directly, it will cause huge waste.

Organizations have thought of making good use of ingredients that still have nutritional value to cook loving lunch boxes to promote food wise and waste reduction. They can also provide free nutritious lunch boxes to primary school children in need to help them grow up healthily.

The Gaia Group, a catering group, set up a plan this year, Gaia for all, to make good use of the remaining fresh ingredients in the restaurant to provide grass-roots families and children with fresh hot food for free.

(Photo by Zeng Fengting)

The Gaia Group, a catering group, established a program Gaia for all this year, hoping to alleviate the problem of food waste in the catering industry through the program.

They make good use of the fresh ingredients left in the restaurant to provide grassroots families and children with fresh and warm food.

The free meal distribution started today (26th) and will end on the 31st of next month.

From Monday to Thursday, Gaia Group will provide 100 free hot lunch boxes to the two service centers of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals for students from low-income families in need to pick them up.

The plan is to distribute more than 8,000 love lunch boxes, each of which will have different dishes, so that the beneficiary students can enjoy a nutritious and balanced lunch during the summer vacation.

Gaia For All founder Gao Mingkang (Kiefer) pointed out that based on restaurant operation needs, most restaurants will prepare more ingredients than they actually need every day to ensure demand.

In the past, when inspecting different restaurants, it was found that there were a lot of ingredients left in the restaurant. Among them, buffets were the most common, and most of these fresh ingredients were discarded when they were not used properly.

Kiefer described this method of processing as a waste. "In fact, the remaining ingredients are still very fresh. Can there be other ways to deal with it?"

There are always a lot of fresh ingredients left in the restaurant, and Gaia For All founder Kiefer describes this method as wasteful.

He thought of making good use of the ingredients and turning them into camping lunch boxes for the grassroots school children.

(Photo by Zeng Fengting)

So Kiefer thought of turning the rest of the restaurant's ingredients into nutritious and loving lunch boxes, and sending them to the children in need through charity organizations.

In addition, he also used the takeaway platform to make the remaining ingredients into lunch boxes and sell them at a lower price, giving the public more choices, hoping to promote the concept of "Food Wise and Waste Reduction".

At the same time, they will donate all the benefits of lunch boxes to charity organizations at no cost to support children's development.

Kiefer said that all lunch boxes made from the remaining ingredients will be in line with restaurant standards and will be cooked by the organization's restaurant chef team.

The lunch box will be delivered to the beneficiary within half an hour after it is made. The principle of "do it, get it" is followed to prevent the food from spoiling during the process.

(Photo by Zeng Fengting)

For the rest of the ingredients in the restaurant, the public is of course most concerned about the safety and quality of the food.

Kiefer said that all lunch boxes made from the remaining ingredients will be in line with restaurant standards and will be cooked by the organization's restaurant chef team.

The team also pays special attention to whether the food storage temperature is appropriate, and will deliver it to the beneficiaries within half an hour after the lunch box is made, and follow the principle of "do it, send it" to prevent the food from spoiling during the process. .

Qiu Er, deputy general manager of business development of Gaia Group, said that Gaia for all helps grassroots citizens through cooperation with different charities. It is hoped that the Gaia for all project will be extended to all parts of Hong Kong in the future to benefit more people.

(Photo by Zeng Fengting)

Qiu Er, deputy general manager of Gaia Group's business development, said that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Gaia Group and hopes to give back to the citizens who have always supported them.

Gaia for all helps grassroots citizens by cooperating with different charities. We hope that the Gaia for all project will be extended to all parts of Hong Kong in the future to benefit more people.

In addition, Gaia Group has also noticed that the food waste problem in restaurants is serious. It hopes that through similar activities, it can benefit those in need, and at the same time, it can take the lead to improve the waste situation and raise the industry's awareness of cherishing food.

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