Astrid Paramita, 33, and Herman Andryanto, 39, are anxious about a dark irony in Jakarta. The issue of hunger still haunts the city, while there is a lot of food wasted.
By
Elsa Emiria Leba
·5 minutes read
ARSIP PRIBADI
Astrid Paramita (right) and Herman Andryanto
Astrid Paramita, 33, and Herman Andryanto, 39, are anxious about a dark irony in Jakarta. The issue of hunger still haunts the city, while there is a lot of food wasted. After watching a video about a movement to share party food in India, this married couple founded FoodCycle Indonesia in 2017.
As a non-profit foundation, FoodCycle Indonesia\'s vision is to achieve an Indonesia without hunger and without food waste. This means, FoodCycle Indonesia seeks to be a bridge to distribute edible excess food to the less fortunate.
FoodCycle Indonesia has several main programs, including "A Blessing to Share", which distributes ready food from weddings and other celebrations, "BreadRescue", which distributes bread from bakeries, and "LunchSharing", which distributes lunch from offices. This ready-to-eat food is usually distributed directly to those in need. The menu varies, including rice, prawns and, sometimes, steak.
There is also the FoodCycle Hub program, which distributes packaged food from food companies. This packaged food is usually stored at the food bank in Gading Serpong. The food is usually in the form of milk, biscuits and instant noodles, which are recorded, selected and distributed as needed.
"FoodCycle is mostly coordination and collaboration. Our team actually does not go directly to the field to distribute food in the field,” said Astrid in a video call from Gading Serpong, Tangerang, on Tuesday (15/12/2020).
Astrid ensures that the food given to the beneficiaries is not defective or damaged. Ready-to-eat meals from weddings or office lunches are distributed directly to front line organizations (FLOs) that will directly distribute them to those in need. Meanwhile, packaged food from the factory is food that will expire in the next two to three months.
An Instagram screenshot from FoodCycle Indonesia featuring FoodCycle Indonesia\'s co-founder Astrid Paramita.
Currently, there are more than 15,000 beneficiaries of FoodCycle Indonesia in Greater Jakarta. Food is regularly distributed to more than 60 registered FLOs and communities, such as orphanages, nursing homes, refugee communities, interfaith organizations and shelters for street children. "We are targeting non-productive people first," said Astrid.
As a form of control, they visit the FLOs twice a year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they asked for the FLOs’ accountability in the distribution of the food by taking pictures of the food when it was distributed and consumed by their target groups.
We are targeting non-productive people first
When added up, Astrid and Herman have distributed more than 200 tons of food. Of that amount, around 110 tons were basic necessities obtained from fund donations and 60 tons were donated food from businesspeople or restaurants. The rest is food from weddings, bread and office lunches.
FoodCycle actually has two other missions, namely reprocessing food that is still edible and recycling food scraps as compost. However, Astrid admits that limited resources have made them more focused on distributing food.
Looking for donors
FoodCycle\'s main program is to distribute food. However, Astrid and Herman have more responsibility. They must find donors who are willing to support their mission in the long term. Sometimes, they have to present their activities in front of company representatives.
"We are like people selling, but not selling goods. We offer a service to take and share excess food rather than throwing it away. Of the many, usually only a few are interested,” said Astrid.
An Instagram display from FoodCycle Indonesia that shows a number of children who have benefited from FoodCycle Indonesia. FoodCycle Indonesia is a foundation that distributes excess food to people in need.
Dispensing excess food can actually be a beneficial program for the company from a business and image perspective. On several occasions, companies have included collaborative activities with FoodCycle as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.
To date, about 25 partners have collaborated with FoodCycle Indonesia, such as Bridestory, Cargill Indonesia, Holland Bakery, Kanemory, Nutrifood, Nestle, Panin Asset Management, Upfield Indonesia and Zomato. In addition, FoodCycle Indonesia also collaborates with several companies in the logistics sector, for example Grab.
FoodCycle does not depend solely on donations but also conducts various fundraising programs. In the past, the foundation ran the MannaCake program to earn its own income by selling cakes made from decent food ingredients. Now, FoodCycle is focused on raising funds through the kitabisa.com platform.
"Sharing is not waiting until we have more. In my opinion, tomorrow morning being able to open our eyes again is our greatest gift, so we must be able to share anything more than that," said Herman.
During the pandemic, FoodCycle has adapted to become a distributor of food for medical personnel and the poor. Astrid and Herman also created a new program, Indonesia’s Morning Spirit (SPI), which feeds 17,274 children a nutritious breakfast. SPI, according to the plan, will become a regular program next year.
Astrid and Herman actually have a business and a family to take care of. However, they both agreed to keep working for FoodCycle. "When I get feedback from the elderly and children at the orphanage, it is fulfillment. In the end, we don\'t live for ourselves,” said Astrid.
Astrid Paramita
Age: 33 years
Education: Bachelor’s Degreee in Food Technology from RMIT University, Australia
Occupation: Self-employed
Herman Andryanto
Age: 39 years
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems from RMIT University, Australia
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