Community Food Box: Feeding the hungry during CMCO

 

Nearly 50 Shell petrol stations in the Klang Valley now have community food boxes available on their premises. (Dr Madhusudhan pic)

PETALING JAYA: With the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) implemented in many parts of the country, underprivileged families are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living.

Without any means to sustain themselves, more and more people are going hungry and struggling to get through each day.

In a bid to ease the plight of the poor, Dr Madhusudhan, the founder of Teddy Mobile Clinic, set out to open a community food box at a Shell petrol station in Setia Alam.

During an earlier interview with FMT, he explained that he, together with his friend Alfred Samuel Mariyaras had pooled resources to distribute to those in need.

Inspired by a similar community project in Australia, Dr Madhusudhan said that it was only right to give the poor a helping hand so they can feed themselves, and provide charitable members of society an avenue to donate provisions to those who need it.

Food donated to the boxes will be distributed to needy households. (Dr Madhusudhan pic)

However, that single community food box was not Dr Madhusudhan’s sole focus for long.

As it happened, Shell managing director Shairan Huzani Husain happened to visit the Setia Alam petrol station, where he learnt of the food box project.

He was eager to help out and immediately got in touch with Dr Madhusudhan to decide on what to do next.

“We sold the idea of refurbishing their redundant water bin and he loved it,” said Dr Madhusudhan.

“He then connected us to all the other retailers to see who was interested in the idea and it expanded.”

The proposed sites for the community food boxes were carefully scouted out and surveyed, with location and security being the most important factors in deciding on placements.

Following that, some 50 food boxes were successfully established in various parts of the Klang Valley.

Members of the public are encouraged to contribute food items to the community food boxes. (Dr Madhusudhan pic)

While Dr Madhusudhan and his team do not keep exact numbers, he estimated that each community food box will feed an average of 10 to 15 families.

Plus, with the third wave of Covid-19 hitting hard, students and old folks have also resorted to the food bins to sustain themselves.

For these dependent parties, all they have to do is walk into participating Shell stations to get the food aid they need.

Most stations allow a maximum of three food items to be taken, though some allow up to five.

Members of the public are more than welcome to drop off any food items into these food bins.

According to Dr Madhusudhan’s suggestions, those keen on helping out can donate canned food, instant noodles, sugar, coffee, biscuits, bee hoon, rice, soy sauce, milk and Milo.

Regular checks will be conducted to ensure that donated food items are not past expiry dates. (Dr Madhusudhan pic)

At the moment, Dr Madhusudhan is working on reaching out to companies willing to sponsor this initiative.

He believes that there are many good Malaysians out there with kind hearts who would love nothing more than to help the needy, but are unaware of how to do so.

As such, the good doctor aims to establish more food boxes throughout the country. He also hopes that participating petrol stations will be able to work with NGOs to ensure that the poor are fed.

“There are many people who want to help out during this difficult time. Through this project, we provide the community with an opportunity to help others,” said Dr Madhusudhan.

To find out where and what you can donate, visit Community Food Box’s Facebook page here. - FMT