FB screengrab/ Jamus Lim
Jamus Lim shines a light on Sengkang’s food rescue programs
SINGAPORE: In a social media post on Friday (April 11), Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Jamus Lim praised the different food rescue programs at Sengkang. He wrote that he comes over to occasionally help out at the Thursday evening programs at 182 Rivervale and 286 Compassvale and the one on Wednesdays at 304C Anchorvale.
“For me, programs like these—led by residents, supported by the community, and utilising resources that may otherwise go to waste—are a win-win,” he wrote, adding that these programmes are “truly sustainable, in many senses of the word.”
Not only do such programmes reduce food waste, Assoc Prof Lim pointed out, but they are also manned by Sengkang’s resident beneficiaries, which means there isn’t as much need for manpower to keep the programmes going. Moreover, he noted that the programme is “recycling at its best” since it makes use of fruit, vegetables, and canned goods that would have otherwise been disposed of and turns them into home-cooked meals.
Assoc Prof Lim also mentioned the Good Samaritan Food Donation Bill, which was passed in the Parliament last August 2024. The bill provides liability protection for donors as long as they have practised food safety and hygiene measures, and he noted that it encourages initiatives such as those in Sengkang.
The WP, which supported the bill, is hoping the government can add to the efforts in matching food donors with recipients in need, including setting up an online database for interested supermarkets and food and beverage establishments with food banks and grassroots welfare groups.
There appears to be a demand for food donations, as Assoc Prof Lim noted in a comment on Facebook that the queue for the programme at Anchorvale forms around an hour before the distribution begins.
Netizens have left positive comments on the Sengkang MP’s post, as well as on the Workers’ Party Facebook page, where it was shared.
“Good job, WP. Keep up the good work. Many residents will be thankful for all of you to participate in such a good cause for the needy…,” wrote one.
Another noted that the help that food donation programmes can give residents is very timely. “Times are bad as the cost of living is getting very high, and with this tariff going around, it will definitely help our Sengkang citizens going forward.”
“Great work. This is a service to the community. It is not going around embracing the elderly alone and kissing babies during elections but helping the poor and the needy,” a Facebook user commented.
The Good Samaritan Food Donation Bill had been drafted from scratch over a period of four years by Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng (PAP).
“We have a serious food waste problem in Singapore. An average of about 750,000 tonnes of food waste was generated every year for the past five years,” Mr Ng said in Parliament.
“This Bill is only the starting point to create an effective legal and policy framework for the food donation ecosystem in Singapore. I hope that the learnings from this bill will form the foundation for future improvements in our food donation landscape, and I hope we will see an update in the next few years,” the MP added. /TISG
