PUTRAJAYA, April 9 — A total of 60.65 tonnes of unsold food and drinks worth RM724,770 were collected over 26 days of the MySaveFood@Ramadan 2024 Programme at 139 Ramadan bazaars nationwide.

Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Fuziah Salleh said the achievement of the MySaveFood@Ramadan 2024 Programme also included the prevention of 113,763 kilogrammes of greenhouse gas emissions.

She said a surplus food ecosystem is being drafted to enhance the implementation of the same programme next year, where it not only saves food that is still edible but also systematically manages discarded food waste to produce compost fertiliser.

"The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) will continue to support this noble effort and hopes that it will be culture practised on an even larger scale in the future,” she said in a statement today.

Last year, a total of 25 tonnes of unsold food and drinks worth RM300,000 were collected at 55 Ramadan bazaars.

The MySaveFood @ Ramadan 2024 programme is a strategic management system through efforts to collect unsold food and drinks at Ramadan bazaars and distribute them to students, welfare homes, homeless individuals and those in need.

This year’s programme is carried out in collaboration with the KPDN and Pertubuhan Pemuda GEMA Malaysia (Pemuda GEMA) and involves the participation of 2,112 volunteers, including Gerakan Pengguna Siswa (GPS).

The ministry, which hopes that the programme will lead to a culture of avoiding food wastage, also welcomes the participation of corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations in the implementation of such programmes. — Bernama