Every day, Malaysians throw away nearly 15 000 tonnes of food. The silver lining is that up to 20 %, or 3 000 tonnes, of this food waste could be avoided. However, achieving such a reduction requires both consumers and producers to be informed and trained in sustainable food waste management.

This is where the Feed People Not Landfills project comes into play. The project worked directly with 400 households and 300 food service operators (FSOs) in adopting best practices for reducing food waste. It also developed a comprehensive curriculum in food waste management, which universities can easily incorporate into their food, beverage and hospitality programs.

The project operated in 4 main steps:

1.  Reviewing current food waste management strategies in order to identify implementation strategies and establishing shared understanding of best practice.
2. Development of supporting tools and materials that encourage and enable responsible food preparation, consumption, and waste management.
3. Disseminate materials and organise responsible food waste practices among households, schools and Food Service Operators.
4. Incorporate best practices and the Malaysian standards in food and beverage and hospitality course modules.

Thanks to this project’s structured approach to food waste management, along with its various policy initiatives and national awareness-raising campaign, several households and FSOs have seen a reduction in food waste volume.