Kuching Food Aid

Bringing Essential
Food to Sarawak’s
Most Vulnerable

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RM60 Food Aid

Typical RM60 Food Aid Box may include*

5kg Rice
30 Fresh Eggs
2 Packets of Biscuits
2 Packets of Dry Beehoon
2 Cans of Sardines
1 Can of Pickled Lettuce
1 Bottle Kicap Manis
1kg Sugar
1l Cooking Oil

Who We help

We help families facing food insecurity in Sarawak from impoverished communities who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our food aid recipients are single mothers caring for young children, the sick, elderly and differently abled. Other recipients include rural farmers, fishermen and labourers dependent on a daily wage to make a living. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant job losses and many families have spiralled downwards into worsening poverty.

Our Founder

Datin Shen-Tel Lee
Founder of Kuching Food Aid
Co-Founder of Sereni & Shentel and Bowerhaus

Late October 2020 I founded a community lead initiative called Kuching Food Aid with the simple mission of using social media to show the food insecurity and the living conditions as well as the daily struggles of the poor in Kuching. My plan was to be as transparent as possible in sharing the stories of the families I encountered and encouraging people to share and help with basic food essentials to those who really needed the help. I was not politically motivated, I wasn’t concerned about race or gender, nor if they were legal or illegal citizens. The mission was to help as many people who didn’t fall into our governments criteria for Food Assistance.

Social media was an incredible platform for not only showing what I saw on the ground but also as a way for families to connect and share their stories. It was also a way for volunteers to connect and share the locations of hundreds who needed help, they came from various NGOs and charities who just simply lost their funding due to the pandemic. They needed financial help and I was in a position to use a free digital platform to encourage many in relatively comfortable social economical backgrounds to dig deep and buy aid directly from local supermarkets. What makes KFA different is that we have partnered with local supermarkets to stock and pack our aid. It means that even in our never ending lockdowns aid can be packed. Donors love the transparencies and volunteers love that they can have access to aid fast.

To date over 15,000 donors have bought aid directly and families in Bintulu, Sibu, Miri, Bintangor and Mukah as well as Kuching have benefited from Kuching Food Aid.

Volunteers who risk being exposed to COVID when delivering aid always thank us for your generosity. The way we fundraise and help the poor during this pandemic has had to shift. We have had to adapt. I hope that by knowing that we exist you feel empowered to help from the comfort of your home. That you know that no matter where you are in the world, you can make a difference to a family who has lost the ability to earn a living. No one wants a hand out, but for those who are brave enough to come forward we try our very best to listen and help. The aid is never enough and sadly for the ones we do make it too, there are hundreds we don’t.

Our Volunteers

Our volunteers are made up of community volunteers, former social workers, retired nurses and local NGOs. Volunteers from grassroots communities flag urgent cases, villages and longhouses in need to KFA. They also sacrifice their time and resources to sort, pack and deliver aid to communities that are sometimes located 3-4 hours from local towns and supermarkets. Volunteers put aside their own comfort and safety at times to deliver aid to areas under lockdown. This network is a powerful testimony to the compassion and solidarity that has arisen out of the devastation and hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a powerful symbol of the humanity, beauty and resilience of our Sarawakian communities. All volunteers give their time for free and pay for all travel expenses. 100% of your donations goes towards food aid only. There is zero administrative cost.

Buy Food Aid Directly from a Supermarket

Sarawak’s finest supermarkets have partnered up with Kuching Food Aid to help get essential food out during this pandemic. Your purchase of our Food Aid box in stores and online will help us to help more! Your aid will be connected to a local charity, NGOs and community leaders who are invested in the well being of community members who are suffering from food insecurity. Our box costs RM60 and feeds a family in need for up to a week*.

CHECK WHERE YOU CAN PURCHASE FOOD AID >

Press

Filter

10 Mar, 2021

The Kuching Food Aid project

IT began with a message asking for help. Because of Covid-19, Kuching was on lockdown and…
15 Jan, 2021

Every bit counts: How Kuching Food Aid gets help for the poor and needy via Instagram

As rain continues to fall ceaselessly, flash floods in several neighbourhoods in Kuching and Bintulu…
12 Apr, 2021

How Shen-Tel Lee is using social media to drive Kuching Food Aid

In 2020, we have seen how different organisations and individuals have risen to the occasion…

Share What We Do

Share the work we are doing on your instagram, facebook, twitter, tik tok or youtube!

Download our social media images and share them on your platforms today and help us help more today! The power you have to spread the work of our work is HUGE.

Host a Local Food Aid Drive

Organise a local food or donation drive!

Love a challenge? This drive might be for you.
Our volunteers are always in need of packed aid. Grab your friends and family, divide a shopping list and create your own Food Aid sets. When your aid is ready email us at [email protected] and we will help connect your aid to needy recipients.

Have the network? Don’t have the time?
Host a Food Aid Box drive. This one is super effective and fast to do because we have partnered with supermarkets who can pack the aid for you. All you have to do is raise the funds then visit a listed supermarket and buy the aid directly from them. To see the list of stockists click here

Host a Milk Drive
We always need milk powder to help families with young children and single mothers from impoverished communities. If you have the time why not organise a milk drive in your local community. Do your home work, shop around for a great price and once you have bought the milk email us at [email protected] and we will help connect your aid to mother’s in need.

Become a Volunteer

We are always looking for more digital volunteers who can help spread the work of what we do. If this sounds like something you want to do, have a look at our folder of digital images and help us by posting it on your social media.

We are also in need for more volunteers to help encourage local businesses to give back via social enterprise. If you are passionate about the work we do please share it with your friends, family or even your boss and see if there are ways that they could partner with us to help raise funds. If you are a business owner and want to help raise funds via a collaboration email us and we will help to promote and provide you will our logo.

If you want to get hands on and help us deliver aid and you are fully vaccinated with a car full of petrol we need YOU! Email us at [email protected] tell us a little bit about yourself, where you are located, your vaccination status and when we have a spot we will contact you. Your safety is of our greatest concern.

Become a Corporate Partner Today

Interested in becoming a partner? For inquiries about how your company or institution could partner with Kuching Food Aid contact us today.

Fact about Hunger

900,000

In 2019, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations recorded that 900,000 Malaysians are hungry [1]. Of this number, adults, children and the elderly are eating less than three meals a day – not by choice but because they do not have enough money to buy food or lack accessibility to the food.

3

In 2019, the World Bank identified that 3 out of 10 Malaysians feel they do not have enough money to buy food[2]. Between 2012 and 2018, the number of Malaysians who felt that they do not have enough money for food has tripled from 8.6% to 28.7%. In rural areas, the numbers went from 18.6% to 30%[2]

2000

Kuching Food Aid reaches out to around 2000 families a month all across Sarawak. It costs us RM60 to help a family with food essentials that can last up to a week.

We would love to hear from you.
Email us at [email protected]

Kuching Food Aid help families facing food insecurity in Sarawak from impoverished communities who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our food aid recipients are single mothers caring for young children, the sick, elderly and differently abled. Other recipients include rural farmers, fishermen and labourers dependent on a daily wage to make a living. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant job losses and many families have spiralled downwards into worsening poverty. All volunteers give their time for free and pay for all travel expenses. 100% of your donations goes towards food aid only. There is zero administrative cost. All volunteers give their time for free and pay for all travel expenses. 100% of your donations goes towards food aid only. There is zero administrative cost.