PETALING JAYA: Some NGOs involved in food distribution for the poor and marginalised communities have had to dig into their financial reserves as donations and voluntary help have almost dried up.
Their situation has been made worse by the rise in food costs to all-time highs three months ago.
According to tradingeconomics.com, food prices in Malaysia rose by 7.2% year-on-year in July. This is the steepest increase on record, following a 6.9% increase the month before.
Although it has been an uphill task to keep going, the operators are soldiering on as best they can.
Kechara Soup Kitchen Society operations director Justin Cheah said the fear of further food price rises and manpower shortage has intensified since it started to draw on its financial reserves to cope with its plight.
“The economic situation is affecting our fundraising efforts to ensure the B40 community receive the nutrients they need.
“In order not to burden the public too much, we just need to raise RM50,000 monthly to supplement our RM120,000-a-month operational expenditure. We dip into our reserves for the remaining RM70,000. In this way, we can survive for another year,” Cheah told theSun.
He said Kechara supports more than 3,200 families nationwide each month. Of these, 800 families are from the Klang Valley alone.
The NGO collects and distributes food supplies for the poor and marginalised communities that are struggling to meet their basic food requirements.
“We believe there is a strong need to address concerns of food insecurity among those categorised as being hardcore poor.
“About 625,000 Malaysians slipped into the B40 group as a result of the pandemic, and now with the increasing prices of goods, their dependency on our food bank has become greater,” he said.
Cheah noted the price of cooking oil in 5kg bottles, which rose 300% three months ago from RM15 to RM45, has now reduced a little to between RM31 and RM33 per bottle.
He said while the price reduction was good, it did not help much since the prices of other food items and raw materials were still rising.
“Food prices have generally increased by some 20%, which means we have to make greater efforts to collect food items and money to ensure no one is left behind,” he added.
While Kechara is keeping its head above water by dipping into its financial reserves, it fears that its fundraising efforts will see donations drop by 40%.
Cheah hopes the public will participate in its food donation drive which starts this Sunday, in line with World Food Day.
He said donors can drop off dry food items at its food banks located in Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Ipoh, Malacca and Johor Baru.
The public can also purchase and drop off food donations at its partner supermarkets, which include Lotus stores in Tanjung Pinang, Station 18, Kepong, Malacca and Seri Alam, and AEON Mall in Shah Alam.
Exact locations are available on Kechara’s website at www.kecharasoupkitchen.com, or call its mobile line at 010-3333 260.
Alternatively, the public can donate directly to Kechara’s Maybank account number 5122-3133-4874. All donations of food items will be collected on Sunday, said Cheah.
Similarly, Malaysian Public Health and Welfare Association (PKKUM) president Elisha Kor Krishnan said while it used to serve cooked food daily, it has since been forced to stop doing so on Tuesdays due to the rising costs.
“We used to serve three meals a day but now only provide lunch and dinner.
“We need to prepare 300 cooked meals a day for distribution. Each meal costs RM9 now, compared with RM7 previously.
“Even the rent for our premises in Jalan Raja Laut has increased from RM3,200 to RM3,400,” she said.
“PKKUM needs RM90,000 a month to run its food distribution service, on top of attending to its roughly 50 residents in two shelter homes in Kuala Lumpur.”
Apart from the increased food and rental costs, Elisha said there are also medical costs to pay for, especially for those involving mental health.
“When residents are homeless and jobless, they come to us for help. We carry out health screenings, including for HIV/AIDS, which are covered by the Health Ministry (MOH).
“But those who need help for depression and other such issues have to seek private treatment as such ailments are not covered by MOH.”
To meet the challenges, she said PKKUM was forced to dip into its RM87,000 reserve, and now has barely enough to last until December.
Those who wish to assist PKKUM can reach the NGO 24/7 at 016 684 3822.
All donations to PKKUM and Kechara are tax deductible.