Food For Thought

Singapore’s food waste has risen by one fifth in the last decade— and yet there are people who don’t have access to nutritious meals. How can we narrow the gap?

- Grace Ma

Going hungry in Singapore can be an unfathomable concept to many, especially with the myriad affordable food options that could go as low as $2.50 for a plate of chicken rice. Last year, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore as the most food-secure country in the world on its Global Food Security Index.

Yet, a 2020 United Nations report on The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World revealed that 4.7 per cent of Singapore’s population face moderate to severe food insecurity and lack reliable access to affordable nutrition. On the other end of the spectrum, the amount of food waste generated in Singapore has increased by about 20 per cent in the past 10 years and is expected to climb with our growing population and economic activity, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA). Out of the 744,000 tonnes of food waste generated in 2019, only 18 per cent was recycled.

“While awareness has increased for both food waste and food insecurity, the reality is that the gap has widened with the increased food insecurity situation,” says Nichol Ng, co-founder of The Food Bank Singapore. “More people have become food insecure as a result of losing their livelihoods during the pandemic. So even with greater awareness, the rate of food donations doesn’t necessarily match the rate of growing need. Based on our pre-Covid-19 food insecurity report, which was commissioned to the Lien Centre for Social Innovation in early 2019, one in 10 people is already experiencing food insecurity. That number has currently climbed to one in nine, or worse.”