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Epidemic | Social enterprises insist on providing meals despite the lack of resources

2022-03-25T10:17:59.184Z


The fifth wave of the epidemic broke out in Hong Kong from February to March, and many grassroots citizens are facing difficulties. An organization launched the "Eleventh Conscientious Consumption Campaign", recruited three social enterprise restaurants that support the community, and called on the public to respond to consumption and support social enterprises.


The fifth wave of the epidemic broke out in Hong Kong from February to March, and many grassroots citizens are facing difficulties.

An organization launched the "Eleventh Conscientious Consumption Campaign" and recruited three social enterprise restaurants that support the community to call on the public to respond to consumption and support social enterprises. They can also donate surplus materials to make the best use of resources, avoid waste, and help those in need. of disadvantaged groups.


Under the epidemic, Xile Catering and Bakery, which operates in a social enterprise model, regularly provides free meal delivery services to the elderly in the district.

(Pictures provided by Joy Catering Baking)

Under the epidemic, people from all walks of life are facing different degrees of life difficulties. The gathering restriction order has made it more difficult for many social enterprise restaurants to operate. It is necessary to maintain activities such as meal distribution, and also face problems such as shortage of supplies.

Established in 2011 and has been supporting social enterprises, Fengsheng Social Enterprise Institute launched the "Eleventh Conscience Consumption Campaign" and recruited three social enterprise restaurants that support the community, including Holy Café, Manna Manna and Joyous Kitchen to share their current predicament.

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The epidemic has hit the catering industry and social enterprises have tight manpower resources

Joy Food & Baking mainly provides employment opportunities for the handicapped, so that they can integrate into the society and become self-reliant in the future.

The new store is closed due to the epidemic, but it does not prevent them from regularly providing free meal delivery services to the elderly in the district. Currently, meals are distributed to the elderly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and about 4,000 lunch boxes are distributed each month.

Song Tai, the person in charge, said that despite the difficulties in business operations during the epidemic, he insisted on delivering meals to the elderly, "because many elderly people are trapped at home without anyone to take care of them, and they can't even buy medicines."

Xile Catering and Bakery currently needs to raise donations to support the meal distribution activities. "With a sum of money, you can buy food to help the elderly. Recently, many good leaders have sent out rapid test kits, masks, hand sanitizers, and proprietary Chinese medicines, and Toxile gave them to some seniors. in case for need".

She described that the epidemic has had a great impact on catering social enterprises, and called on the public to support social enterprises and provide more support.

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Manna, another social enterprise that helps the poor with catering, formed a mutual aid group with grass-roots families and the elderly living alone. However, the operation was paralyzed due to the epidemic, and co-workers were required to be responsible for all tasks such as food delivery, material delivery and emotional counseling.

The person in charge, Leo, pointed out that the restaurant is currently doing takeaway meals, and it also provides meal delivery services in Kwun Tong and Sham Shui Po districts, and about 20,000 lunch boxes are distributed every month. Many women who used to be volunteers have contracted the virus and need to be quarantined, which puts a lot of pressure on resources and manpower.”

Leo revealed that they are most concerned about the living conditions of the homeless, the elderly living alone, families living in subdivided housing, and cleaners. "We will also deliver anti-epidemic kits, testing kits, and regularly update them with government information."

He described some subdivided households and the elderly, the sources of information are not as popular as the general public, so he hoped that people with a heart can support these grass-roots families together, "One can donate and support our meal coupons, two can donate rapid testing kits, and three are also What we need most is to volunteer.”

Joyous Kitchen's main business is take-out lunch boxes to conferences and centers, using the proceeds to serve grassroots meals.

(Picture provided by Le Chufang)

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Suspension of the lunch box business during the epidemic

As a social enterprise under the Joyous Association, Joyous Kitchen’s main business is take-out delivery to meetings and lunch boxes in the center, using the proceeds to serve grassroots meals.

Jonathan, the person in charge, bluntly said that the epidemic has had a great impact on them, because all meetings have been suspended, and the lunch box business has been greatly reduced. We still maintain the food delivery service of the NGO center, and we have changed to making food buns and reheating two food buns, hoping to distribute them to different neighbors in need through the organization’s staff, so that they can have a meal and eat.”

Le Kitchen is now setting up emergency support points. Jonathan pointed out that they need different canned food and dry food to distribute to the confirmed cases and families who cannot go out.

"The Shifu Association has a shop in Jordan called Mengfu Tiandi, which is now an emergency support point. The frozen food bags and food boxes we make will be distributed there to families in need and confirmed patients. At present, we can support the most Ours is to directly donate dry food, materials, and of course money, so that we can make more different food bags and food boxes.”

Fengsheng Social Enterprise Association pointed out that the three social enterprises insisted on providing services to disadvantaged groups under the epidemic situation, and called on the public to contribute to services such as food delivery or material delivery to support various social enterprise units. Donating anti-epidemic products and healthy drinks, or ingredients that can be used to make lunch boxes, such as staple food, meat, vegetables and fruits, can reduce the expenditure and burden of social enterprises and free up more resources to help more people in need. donated materials to support local social enterprises, you can visit the website of the Eleven Conscience Consumer Campaign.

Epidemic | The survey shows that 95% of the interviewed social enterprises’ business has dropped by 50% and half of the cash flow can only maintain the cash flow for half a year. Fan push "automatic meal machine" to protect grassroots hot food epidemic | Social enterprise restaurant owner has lost 10 years of business closure, insists on increasing the number of rice distribution and delivering supplies

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Source: hk1

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