An application for matching food donors with organisations that provide food to the needy is to be rolled out by this year.
The virtual food banking app, a partnership between DBS Bank and food charity The Food Bank Singapore, is aimed at tackling food wastage and food insecurity, said DBS.
The app will allow donors to share the type and quantity of food they have, which food support organisations can view on the platform.
This will hopefully facilitate better food matching, ensuring that those in need receive the right amount and types of food, as well as reducing food waste. DBS is financing the development of the app, which started early this year.
Most Singaporeans who are food insecure, such as seniors or people from low-income families facing long- term unemployment or health issues, receive support from more than 100 food support organisations here.
By connecting donors, social service agencies, food support organisations and logistics providers on a single platform, the app can help streamline the food donation process. It will also collect data for analysis so that the organisations can better understand the needs on the ground.
Trials for the platform began in the first week of June, with The Food Bank inviting more than 300 charities to come on board.
The announcement of this platform comes after a multi-agency work group was set up in 2019 to tackle food wastage and food insecurity, looking at the possible links between the two issues and ways to address them.
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Source: The Straits Times, 5 June 2020