Not all heroes wear capes.
And nothing’s more evident of that phrase than this particular story, which preaches of volunteers, rejected vegetables and helping people, all in the same sentence.
Volunteers Have Been Taking ‘Rejected’ Veggies / Fruits & Putting Them in Fridges for People to Take For Free
A volunteer group has been picking up unused vegetables from market vendors, and giving them away to community refrigerators.
They’ve been doing so on a weekly basis, for three years straight.
Their ‘vege-pades’ are chronicled on their Facebook page, which you can view here.
According to the social media page, their most recent run was held last Tuesday (10 November), during which they managed to retrieve a whopping 800kg of unsold produce.
In line with previous runs, the rescued goods were then sent to the community fridges located at Tampines, Bedok Reservoir and Teck Whye.
“Ugly Vegetables”
According to Zaobao, the volunteer group, termed the Fridge Restock Community, was founded by a certain Ye Yongyao three years ago.
Apparently, the 43-year-old has been selling vegetables for around 15 years. Having dabbled in the trade for so long, he has become accustomed to common practices in his line of profession – one of which was the disposal of 10 to 20 kilograms of “ugly vegetables” each day.
These vegetables tend to boast ‘poor’ visuals, and as such are not popular with the crowd. According to Ye, it’s either because the vegetable in question lacks a healthy colour, or has been disfigured by bumps. Either way, the consensus was clear:
Patrons shy away from it.
And so, these vegetables would always get thrown away despite their edibility.
The practice would go on until some three years ago, when Ye realised about the existence of community refrigerators – devices which permit low-income groups to get food for free.
That moment would prove to be a game-changing one, as Ye went on to start a volunteer organisation known only as the “Fridge Restock Community”.
Volunteers would be sent to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre to “save” the perceived “ugly vegetables” from being discarded.
“We have six or seven volunteers every week to pick up 800 kilograms to 1 metric ton of vegetables,” said Ye.
“Usually when we ask the vegetable vendors if they can give us the vegetables that cannot be sold, they are very willing to support. Thirty vegetable vendors provide us with these dishes.”
Apart from the reduction of food wastage, the move also serves to assist low-income groups – a notion that’s all too underrated considering its perks.
If you’re interested to volunteer, you can check out their Facebook page here for further details.
Featured Image: Facebook (Fridge Restock Community SG)
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