Social mission:
The vision of Foodlink Foundation is to ensure that people who are vulnerable to hunger have access to hot healthy meals. We collect safe-to-eat surplus food from F&B outlets in Hong Kong and deliver to those in need through different charity partners. The role of Foodlink is to connect the supply to the demand as effectively as possible. The benefits are twofold – while reducing hunger, we also reduce the pressure on our city’s landfills.
Business model:
Food donors and partners are the lifeblood of Foodlink. Our partners are identified and matched according to location and the needs of the nearest recipient charity, thereby reducing transit time and ensuring freshness of the food.
Food partners keep surplus food refrigerated until collection, and strict hygiene and safety procedures are in place at every stage of the process. Scheduled pickups ensure efficiency, organisation, and minimal interruption to our partners. The food is then reheated to stringent standards by each charity’s kitchen before feeding those in need.
Founding Team:
Vanessa Hwang founded the charity Foodlink Foundation 16 years ago with the intent to tackle the problem of food wastage, as she learnt that high-end restaurants she so regularly dines in were disposing the untouched food, and that the lavish display of food seen in buffets are put in the bin if unfinished.
Mrs. Hwang is a strong believer in the gift of education and healthy living, which is why she founded Foodlink – dedicated to reducing local food waste and fighting hunger through advocating self-sufficiency and healthy nutrition.
Social Impact:
Hong Kong faces an imminent waste problem. In 2015, over 3,382 tonnes of food waste was disposed of into our landfills every day. At the same time, there are nearly 1 million Hong Kong citizens who are living in poverty and are food insecure. Foodlink seeks to address both issues by serving communities who are vulnerable to hunger – including children, elderly, low-income families, asylum seekers, the homeless as well as other disenfranchised individuals and groups.
In 2016, we rescued a total of 622 tonnes of food which otherwise would be dumped into landfill, serving 1.5 million meals to the needy. As of Jun 2017, we saved a total of 327 tonnes of food being dumped, serving 780,000 meals to the disenfranchised.
Proposed project with students:
- Exploring a business model for building a community kitchen
- Technology upgrade analysis to increase operational efficiency
- Develop new channels to generate revenues so as to transform Foodlink from a grant-receiving NGO to a social enterprise.