VietHarvest launches in Vietnam to tackle food waste and hunger

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Jun 26

On the 20th of June in Hanoi, Vietnam, Action on Poverty (AOP) and VietHarvest signed a partnership in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to tackle the problem of food waste and hunger in marginalised communities in Vietnam. Through the partnership and a sustainable social enterprise model, AOP will help VietHarvest set up operations in Vietnam.

“Our mission comes to life when companies and individuals believe in the purpose and vision of nourishing Vietnam. Without our volunteers, food donors, chef ambassadors and partners like Action on Poverty - it would not be possible to realise the vision of VietHarvest to save food from waste, while also reducing hunger.” - said Louise Tran, Co-Founder of VietHarvest and member of the leadership team of the Australian entity OzHarvest.

For AOP’s CEO Brayden Howie who has been operating in Vietnam for over 30 years, having a partner like VietHarvest that’s professional, experienced with a track record and keen to get started and refine their model, is a catalyst for success.

How it works

The model is simple and replicates the renowned Australian OzHarvest Food Rescue Model established by Ronni Kahn in 2004 that has been replicated around the globe and includes sister organisations - UKHarvest, KiwiHarvest, Japan (JapanHarvest) SAHarvest in South Africa, and now Vietnam (VietHarvest).

The team will work with local businesses to collect good quality food that is fit for human consumption for free from food businesses like hotels, caterers, restaurants, and supermarkets that would otherwise go to waste and instead deliver this food to charities that support individuals in need.

The problem of food waste in Vietnam

According to the United Nations, 1.3 billion tonnes of food produced is lost or wasted around the world and the retail cost of food waste is $1 trillion USD. According to research, 5,000 tonnes of food is wasted daily in Ho Chi Minh City alone.

Vietnam is the second-largest producer of food waste in the region, after China. An estimated 80% of rice in Vietnam never makes it to the market due to reasons such as poor handling, storage and spoilage during distribution. In the first half of 2017, there was an estimated 574,000 people suffering from food hunger in Vietnam.

“The potential of VietHarvest to impact lives is huge. Our vision is to create a sustainable social enterprise that tackles food waste and hunger as well as helps to educate and empower the underserved communities in Vietnam. We have ambitious goals, and thanks to AOP we’re able to kick-start it this year in Hanoi” Said Jimmy Pham, Co-founder of VietHarvest.

VietHarvest has big goals for its 1-year pilot phase. With the strategic partnership with Action on Poverty expected to enable VietHarvest to rescue thousands of kilos of surplus food, deliver thousands of meals to individuals in need, and divert methane from the atmosphere in Vietnam over the next 12 months.

About AOP and Vietharvest

Action on Poverty (AOP) is a social enterprise with more than 50 years of international development experience and grassroots networks globally that helps philanthropists, individuals, organisations, non-profits, and social entrepreneurs tackle poverty globally in a mission for greater equality around the world.

VietHarvest is an innovative social enterprise founded in 2020 by Jimmy Phan (founder of not-for-profit social enterprise KOTO in Vietnam) and Louise Tran (armed with over a decade of experience working in the Australian food rescue sector with OzHarvest) that collects quality surplus food and redistributes it to underserved communities in Vietnam.

*VietHarvest was officially registered as a social enterprise on the 5th of June 2020, but the pandemic delayed the official launch until June 2022.

Details:

Become a food donor: https://www.vietharvest.com/en/get-involved/become-a-food-donor/

Featured

Hi, I’m Jovel Chan, a Singaporean food and drink blogger and F&B consultant📍Ho Chi Minh City.

Over the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of dining in more than 150+ restaurants across Vietnam and judging multiple competitions. Here, I share the industry through my eyes and I hope it inspires you to discover, learn and explore Vietnam’s exciting food and drink scene.