SOS Thai Food Rescue Kitchen
Our partner, the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation Thailand (SOS Thailand), is a Thai food rescue foundation that fights to redefine the way food is distributed, to reduce food waste and to put good nutrition into the hands of those in need. They have rescued over 4 million kgs of surplus food, equivalent to over 18 million meals served to the communities in need. Simultaneously, rescuing surplus food prevents them from going to landfills and helps to reduce the environmental impact of food waste.
Alongside SOS Thailand’s key activity of rescuing surplus food and redistributing them, in 2020, they have initiated the “SOS Rescue Kitchen” project to demonstrate how to cook from surplus food and to provide meal support for surrounding vulnerable communities. The strategic position of the foundation among many large vulnerable communites has led to the success in collaborating and getting help from nearby communities.
The kitchen is opened once a week to cook over 500 meals and has now become an important social event for community leaders and volunteers. As food is an important culture in Thailand, cooking is a great way to bond and socialize. Each community will send its representative leader/chef and helpers to help clean, prepare and cook the meals. Through this kitchen, community people get to learn about food hygiene, food waste management and sharing, which they then bring back and implement in their own communities. Additionally, they also get to take food back to share with their communities. Unlike those serious kitchens, this kitchen has a fun and friendly vibe that welcomes everyone.
The preparation and cooking start at around 9 am to make it in time to serve lunch. After a quick lunch, the group will then relocate to distribute food to nearby communities. It is interesting to see the effectiveness of SOS Thailand in promoting waste management, such that people queing up for food donation all prepared their own food containers (rather than using disposable plates). Just one meal may not seem like a lot, but for many people, these simple, delicious and clean food are just what they need to get through the day.
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Find out more at the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation, Thailand.
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