Sunway pledges to pack two million meals for underserved communities by 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) – Sunway Group is committed to packing two million meals for the underserved and undernourished communities nationwide in the lead-up to its 50th anniversary in 2024.

In a statement issued today, the group said this was also to reaffirm its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG), particularly Goal 2: Zero Hunger by 2030, through its flagship #SunwayforGood Food Aid programmes.

They include Sunway Meal Pack-a-thon, in collaboration with US-based non-governmental organisation Rise Against Hunger, and Sunway Food Bank.

According to the statement, the group kicked off its nationwide Meal Pack-a-thon series last Tuesday at Sunway Pyramid with 60,000 meals packed by nearly 200 Sunway staff volunteers.

Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah said Sunway takes the food security issue seriously and is committed to supporting the communities in need while firmly believing that no corporation can live apart from the communities it serves.

For this year’s meal pack-a-thon, Sunway is targeting to pack a total of 270,000 meals with the help of over 650 staff volunteers and student volunteers from various Sunway educational institutions throughout the country.

The group said the programme would take place in Sunway City Iskandar Puteri, Sunway Penang, Sunway City Ipoh, and Sunway Velocity throughout August and September.

It further explained that the meals would go to 4,500 beneficiaries from the Orang Asli communities, orphanages, senior citizen homes, refugees across Malaysia, and the extreme poor in Sri Lanka.

According to the statement, Sunway’s initiative to address food security and combat hunger among the underserved communities has earned recognition from the Malaysia Book of Records as having the largest food bank drive by any conglomerate in Malaysia.

“To date, close to 190,000 kilogrammes (kg) of food has been packed and distributed to some 70,000 beneficiaries nationwide alongside long-term key partners. The Sunway Food Bank is the group’s primary response to addressing national food security via a two-pronged approach,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the group said Sunway is also addressing food security through organic and urban farming, where 20 acres of land in Sunway City Ipoh had been repurposed to develop Sunway Organic Farm to produce at least 150,000 kg of pesticide-free fruits and vegetables by 2030.

In addition, Sunway XFarms will soon launch the largest urban indoor vertical farm in the federal capital, which is expected to produce at least 13,000 kg of pesticide-free vegetables per month for the urban population in Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA