SINGAPORE: Food rescue has gone digital in Bukit Timah and Bukit Gombak, with the launch of two smart fridges to encourage food sustainability and active participation in combating food wastage in communities. The smart fridges are a project of the People’s Action Party (PAP) Women’s Wing activists from the two areas and are located at Toh Yi Drive in Bukit Timah and Guilin Estate at Bukit Gombak, the party said on Saturday (Nov 11).
Food distribution initiatives usually require beneficiaries to be present in particular places at set times, which can pose problems for those who wish to participate and the organizers of such projects. Having smart fridges addresses these issues as they allow people to collect food items when they’re available to do so. Meanwhile, due to the smart fridges’ digital inventories, organisers can keep track of the food items and communicate with participants more efficiently.
The fridges will be restocked continuously with food items before their best-by date, and residents from the two areas may sign up online to access as many as five free products per month. The project is supported by iJooz Pte Ltd and Ryan’s Grocery, partners in the smart fridge initiative.
“The PAP Women’s Wing wants to empower our constituents in making Singapore more sustainable, and that includes tackling food wastage. These smart fridges help make food rescue more convenient for residents and more efficient for organisers. We are encouraged that close to 500 residents are now members of our smart fridge community through word of mouth alone.
Although the project’s key objective is to reduce food waste and promote sustainability, the free food products also mean some savings for our participants. We will share this experience with more Women’s Wing branches and encourage them to serve their constituents in similar ways,” said Ms Sim Ann, Chairwoman of PAP Women’s Wing and Branch Chair of PAP Bukit Timah division (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC).
Food items nearing expiry dates are disposed of and added to landfills, pointed out Ms Low Yen Ling, Vice-Chairwoman of PAP Women’s Wing and Branch Chair of PAP Bukit Gombak division (Chua Chu Kang GRC).
“With the community fridge, we aim to rescue food from being wasted and, at the same time, raise greater awareness in Bukit Gombak about food wastage and how everyone, from retailers to residents, can play a part in mitigating waste. We can prevent and reduce food waste at the source by planning our supplies, purchases, consumption, and storage of food more thoughtfully and carefully.” /TISG
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