With over 30 years of experience in the food service industry under his belt, Rick Chee knows the in-and-outs of many a successful commercial kitchen. But this also gave him first-hand exposure to the industry’s troubling contribution to the daily food waste dilemma, prompting his motivation to try to bridge the gap between ‘the world of waste to the world of needs’. And so, Food Aid Foundation (FAF) was born.
“Our mission is to rescue surplus food from all kinds of food service sectors, and ensure that the quality of the food is safe for distribution to the poor and needy,” explains Rick of the food bank established in 2013 whose mission is to collect neglected foods donated by various sources and distribute these provisions to welfare organisations, refugee communities, underprivileged families and soup kitchens.
“Since we don’t have a physical product, we very much rely on our integrity, transparency and accountability, and turn that into our product. We are just facilitators between the donor and beneficiary, nothing more.”
Before he was a commercial kitchen designer-turned-philanthropist, Rick was just a boy born and bred in Muar, Johor. Having grown up in a penurious household, surplus food was practically non-existent. The very notion of wasting food was out of the question. “In fact, we barely had enough,” recalls Rick. “The disparity between my childhood and career was so different, and we knew something needed to be done.”
In the early days of FAF, securing the public’s trust and ensuring that the organization was well-equipped to handle food according to safety regulations was an obstacle Rick had to wrestle with.
Malaysia’s justice system had yet to adopt a distinctive law that would legally protect donors from liability – the Good Samaritan Law. As hotels and manufacturers were donating foods close to their expiry dates, there was major concern surrounding the likelihood of casualties if those foods were consumed subsequently.
“This held them back. Before, we managed to secure food thanks to the network of people we knew from the hotel industry who could vouch for us,” says Rick. “Thankfully in 2019, the Food Donation Protection Act came into being.” The organization also appointed 6 ambassadors consisting of businessmen to speak on its behalf in an effort to build new relationships through the good work of these ambassadors.
These relationships came through during last year’s Movement Control Order (MCO). Food ordered by hotels and event organizers in preparation of restrictions being lifted went unused, leaving them with more than they knew what to do with.
“We took in so much perishable and frozen food to the point we ended up running out of storage space. But on the other side, somebody has to suffer the losses and costs,” says Rick bitter sweetly.
Last year’s panic buying fiasco also gave way to a surge of food purchasing that contributed to the country’s already prevalent food waste issue. Something that Rick has seen all too often.
“Malaysia generates the most food waste in the world because of our wide selection of food choices. That is our culture. We don’t eat to live anymore. We live to eat. This lifestyle stems from our lack of understanding of food,” says Rick on the situation. “We treat food as low-hanging fruit, free for us to pluck at our eternal leisure, but that’s not how it works. People tend to forget the amount of resources that go into producing what you see before you.”
Rick views with great concern the practice of throwing away acceptable food due to our misconception of ‘best before’ and expiry labels stating that we have become too reliant on them to judge if something is fit for consumption or otherwise.
“In truth, the date is more for commercial purposes and is left to manufacturers to decide on. To be safe, they will shorten the shelf-life, meaning the date is basically obsolete,” expresses Rick. “We need to also use much common sense to evaluate the quality of food rather than just letting a series of numbers make the decision for us.”
Looking past all the trials and tribulations that have come his way, Rick’s motivation to always do right by the community comes from the gratitude expressed from those whose lives he has helped to improve.
“I find that because our work is food-related, the impact is instantaneous and more fulfilling. The smile you get when you put food on their table and their words of gratitude is very motivating. These are precious moments that we treasure a lot,” says Rick joyously.
As for his thoughts on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives can improve, Rick urges corporate volunteers to ask themselves an honest question – ‘Are you participating to fulfil a company requirement, or do you actually want to do your part?’
“Companies need to understand the importance of looking at communities to work with them, not because they have to do their part, but because they want to be participative in the project. Getting real volunteer-oriented people to participate benefits everyone because they will be inspired to take charge.”
“From my experience, I see many agencies willing to support NGOs, but without a proper system and more long-term adoption programmes in place to better accomplish their CSR objectives, it’s hard for both sides to measure its effectiveness. Hopefully someone can be a driver of change for this issue to educate companies on how to map out a CSR plan with an organization,” Rick says with a smile.
In the 8 years Food Aid Foundation has worked with communities and homes, Rick still finds new ways to give back and help the underprivileged get a second chance. His next project focuses on teachable art, conceived to aid those forced into inactivity due to the lack of job opportunities available to them.
“The idea is to have them choose an art skill and to be trained on it from their homes. We will send the materials and based on what they’re taught, they will produce pieces to be collected by us for our in-house artists to do the final touch-up in preparation for them to be sold as merchandising materials.”
Working with compassion and empathy, Rick’s family-structure style of leading FAF and dedication to helping the impoverished has made him a trusted figure in the NGO scene. Despite having been in business for almost a decade, he still feels like there is still more to learn.
“Passion and enthusiasm alone will not promise success. As we are the first foodbank in Malaysia, we continue to learn and grow as we go along, and will do so together as a family.”
