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Food from the Heart: Delivering Leftover Bread in Singapore

Mabel Chou

Keng Leong Lee

Chung Piaw Teo

Huan Zheng

National University of Singapore

Bakeries and needy individuals in Singapore have benefited from a food distribution program, “Food from the Heart”, which ensures that unsold bread and pastries previously thrownaway by bakeries go instead to the less fortunate. This innovative program has been receivingoverwhelming support from volunteers, bakeries, corporate sponsors, the media and above all,recognition from the public in Singapore.

This voluntary organization aims to achieve 100% participation from the various bread

companies, concurrently achieving an island-wide coverage for bread collection and delivery.These daily missions are carried out by volunteers who use their private cars or public transportfor delivery to the supported welfare homes. In the future, the program also aspires to become afood distribution platform for the needy in Singapore, moving beyond bread and pastry donations.

I. Program background

The “Food from the Heart” Program was initiated by Henry and Christine Laimer, acouple from Vienna who have been in Singapore for 6 years. They were keen to start ameaningful charity project in Singapore, and news reports on bakeries throwing away unsold bread1 provided the inspiration for the “Food from the Heart” program.

Since November 2002, Christine has managed to persuade bakery chains Prima Deli,Four Leaves, NTUC, Bakery’s Corner, Sunshine, Delifrance, Hieotaud (Swiss Gourmet bakery),and Blossoms Cake House to donate their unsold products. With strong media support, Christinehad also been able to recruit more than 900 volunteers. These volunteers will take turns to makethe collections and deliveries along 114 routes nightly, either using their own cars or publictransport.

The couple’s sound business plan and experience in the logistics field provided adequatecredibility for other corporate sponsors to be forthcoming for the program. Fujitsu Asia providedthe anchor for administering the delivery system while other firms like ACRS Automobile Centreand Omega Fusion assisted in cash or kind. The program also depended on the kind support from

national organizations like the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) andthe National Volunteer Centre (NVC) for guidance.

The program officially launched on 8th of February 2003 and benefited 26 welfare homeson the initial phase. Volunteers have been very enthusiastic about playing their part and their efforts will save at least an estimated 3000 kg of bread from being thrown away every week. (As

1 The Sunday Times in November 24, 2002 quoted that large quantities of unsold bread are dumped by bakeries daily

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of May 2003) It is now a distribution system that delivers food to 5800 beneficiaries along 108routes matched by the program.

Figure: Groups of Bakeries and Homes in the eastern partof the country, supported by the program.

II. The beneficiaries

Induction

The program delivers the buns to welfare organizations such as nursing homes, children’shomes, homes for the aged and halfway houses for drug addicts. This list also includes day carecenters as well as Senior Activity Centers (SAC) which are set up at the void decks of 1 to 3 roomHDB flats. Currently, the charity delivers food to 68 such homes and has another 83 on thewaiting list.

A checklist is used to determine the most suitable beneficiary for the program.Considerations include the financial condition and the typical requirements of the institution. Theinstitution is also inquired on whether they have a fridge for overnight storage, an oven for reheating, and if there are any specific dietary requirements (halal, vegetarian etc).

For now, the bread donations go a long way to feed 314 residents and 130 live-in staff atJu Eng Home. Its nursing director, Mrs Jessie Tan, said: “We can save $6000 a year because weno longer need to buy bread. That means a lot to us and we hope people will continue to supportthis well-run program.”

On another instance, the Muhammadiyah Health and day care centre for senior citizens inEunos said the bread deliveries can save each of its 70 poor elderly $1 per day.

Home coordinators

Once a home has become a regular recipient, it will have frequent contact with theorganization’s home coordinators. These volunteers make visits and keep in touch with the

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recipients to gather feedback. They are there to understand the homes’ changing need andrequirement. It is equally important to maintain a good relationship with the homes’administration in order to sustain the program.

Student bodies active in community service are presently being approached to assist ashome coordinators. By having various avenues for feedback, the FFTH program should be able to

better match the consumption pattern of the beneficiaries. The program is also currentlyapproaching the NUS Social work department for possible partnership.

The beneficiaries are required to sign a letter of indemnity, accepting that the food products involved are generally edible and safe for consumption even though they are earmarkedfor destruction. This letter will also hold the beneficiary against using the donated leftover breadfor any unintended purposes. An additional clause allows the donor’s authorized staff to visit the beneficiary’ premises and to view the storage condition, including the way the leftover bread wasconsumed.

Self Collection Centers

In the month of May 2003, FFTH has also started a pilot self-collection program, where bread is distributed to needy families at collection points in housing estates. Working closely withthe residents’ committees (RCs), bread is handed out to 40 families in the Henderson estate 3times a week between 8 pm and 9 pm.

This initiative will extend the existing reach of the program to the needy that are nothoused in welfare homes. Since the success of the pilot, self collection centers are now also set upin Marine Parade, King’s george Avenue, Jalan Besar, Redhill and Pasir Ris (In collaborationwith the various RCs). These beneficiaries include the elderly staying in 1 room flats, theunemployed and poor families finding difficulty in affording a proper meal.

III. Strong support for the program

The bakeries

Back in November 2002, a press release quoted that large quantities of unsold bread aredumped by bakeries daily. “Four Leaves, Prima Deli and other bakeries said their brands wereknown for freshness and giving leftovers to charity could be complicated.”2

Madam Agnes Tan, a supervisor at the Hariprasad Childcare centre, which has 28children from low-income families, said, “The bakeries are now more willing to donate their unsold items because this is an organized effort.”3

This point is evidently true, judging from the enthusiasm of several reputable bakerychains with this program in place. Four Leaves’ general manager Mr David Tan said: “Our staff doesn’t mind staying back for a short while after work to count and hand the bread to thevolunteers. I’m very touched by Mrs Laimer’s sincerity.”

2 The Sunday Times in November 24, 2002, “Junked food”3 Source from The Sunday Times, March 9, 2003. “Mmm… yummy roti”

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The sound management of the program assures the bakeries that the leftover bread willnot be resold or manipulated. This is the main reason why similar efforts in the past have not beenable to take off. By supporting this program, the bakeries will also have access to consolidatedleftover bread data in their own outlets. This set of data is consolidated on a daily basis and itsaccuracy should allow the bakeries to plan and forecast their production better in future. In thislight, it can be a “win-win” situation for the bakeries too.

The business plan also addresses the bakeries’ worry that they may be held legallyresponsible if someone gets ill from eating their leftovers. According to Christine, “we’ve talkedthrough all the legal and operational issues and they (bakeries) have been accommodating. This isespecially when they realized that we see things from a professional point of view, not anemotional one.”

Muslim homes can also benefit from this program as there are halal bakeries in thedonors list. Specific arrangements are made to collect from such bakeries and to deliver to theMuslim homes.

The volunteer group

“Food from the Heart” has 1,000 registered volunteers already, and this figure is still onthe rise. The volunteers visit various branches of participating bakeries to collect leftover bunsthat were not sold during the day. “We have microbiologists, engineers, housewives, law professors and retirees – all wanting to chip in, in any way they can,” quoted Christine.

The volunteers carrying out the daily deliveries form the main pillar of the fooddistribution program. Volunteers can choose their level of commitment and involvement in the program. With a large pool of forthcoming Singaporeans, the flexibility of aiding the program ona rotational basis has also become possible. At the same time, these people are willing to bear with the incidental costs like petrol and SMS fees.

The volunteer group is also strengthened by the inclusion of taxi drivers from theCityCab organization. These 50 CityCab drivers will either deliver the bread, or ferry volunteerswho don’t drive, to the delivery points. They expect to deliver an estimated 145 kg of bread and buns each week from Sunshine Bakeries and Delifrance. The drivers will be rostered so that their earnings would not be affected. A team leader will plan the timings for the pick-up and deliveryso that they coincide with off-peak hours.

Volunteer motivation

It is an interesting research topic itself to understand why the FFTH program has beenendowed with a vibrant and expanding volunteer pool, whilst some other organizations arestruggling to maintain volunteer passion in their activities.

One possible reason might be the uniqueness of the volunteer activities within FFTH.Conventionally, community service has revolved around visiting welfare homes and taking partin fund raising activities. In FFTH, volunteers are tasked to perform collection/delivery duties,knowing at the same time that they are saving valuable food. Hence the enormous value of the program to the society has tremendous appeal to volunteers.

Second, the commitment from volunteers is flexible and unimposing. With a large poolof volunteers from the FFTH program, there is sufficient coverage for those who might have

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reasons not to fulfill their deliveries. Sometimes volunteers join the program in cliques, and theyfind it a means to strengthen the friendship amongst them. An example will be a group of friends,formerly classmates from Raffles Junior College, who are covering fully the duties of a particular delivery route.

Adding on to this point, volunteerism in FFTH is not on a contractual basis and is fully

driven by the passion these Singaporeans have for the program. It is a relatively “clean” form of community service and not that much emotion is involved. Some volunteers for example getdepressed when they visit old folks’ homes, especially when they come to understand their problems and are helpless with them.

Third, there are small incidents in the program that give volunteers a deep sense of appreciation. Some volunteers are addressed as the “bread ladies” by children in welfare homes.They are also rewarded with a warm smile every time they make the deliveries. These small giftsor intangibles make volunteerism a very memorable affair indeed.

The government associated bodies

The program is actively supported by various government associated bodies. The CentralSingapore Community Development Council (CDC) has been actively supporting the program by brainstorming in the program development and providing office space within their premises for the 1st 3 months. The CDC has also extended help in connecting the program to the various senior citizens’ homes island-wide. The National Volunteer Centre (NVC) shared their experiences withmanaging volunteers, providing access to their own volunteers’ database and provided theVolunteer Initiative Grant (VIG) to cover start-up costs.

FFTH has also turned to the National Environmental Agency (NEA) for possiblegovernment grant. On an innovative perspective, this program is actually a food wastemanagement initiative and it can possibly improve environmental hygiene too. FFTH is now

working closely with the Resource conservation department of NEA and hopes to qualify for the3P Partnership Grant4.

IV. Operational Management in Food From The Heart

The “Food from the Heart” program handled more than 3,400 kg of leftover bakerygoods in its first 3 weeks. In the first phase, about 120 volunteers fan out to collect cartons of bread from 34 bakeries and deliver them to 26 welfare homes. To date, the program takes 3 full-time staff to manage the large pool of volunteers, track deliveries and sign on more bakeries.There are also about 7 volunteers coming regularly to office to assist in administrative matters.

The collection and delivery of bread must be done on the same night. The welfare homesshould have a fridge to store baked goods and will be told specifically to consume them the nextday. The program has kicked off in various parts of Singapore, including Bishan, Toa Payoh, AngMo Kio, Tanjong Pagar, Potong Pasir and Jalan Besar.

4 The 3P Partnership Fund aims to facilitate the implementation of 3P partnership efforts between NEA andmembers of the people, Private and Public(3P) sectors to achieve a sustainable, quality environment inSingapore.

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According to Christine’s calculations, the program costs about $16,000 a month5 to runand it is funded currently from her own resources. The operating expenses cover the salaries of 3full-time administrative staff, rental of an office and meeting room at Goldhill Centre in ThomsonRoad. This estimation also covers other office expenses like phone bills, internet connection fees,SMS service, and copier machine rental.

The Delivery Monitoring System

The program runs on a delivery monitoring system called “Food-Trek” tailor made byFujitsu Asia. Such an operation of this scale requires a robust logistics system to process data andinformation, which is where Fujitsu Asia steps in using its Mobile ASP (Application ServiceProvider) Operation platform to coordinate the delivery operations.

Utilizing “Food-Trek”, each acknowledgement of a delivery/collection via an SMS(Short Message Service) by the volunteer will go to the server and be converted into a database.This system provides the management with operational visibility and the information to improvethe existing distribution network. It also tracks and ensures that all bread and pastries reachingtheir destination could be promptly and properly accounted for, with time-consuming paperwork

kept to a minimum.

Said Mr Victor Yue, Director, Fujitsu Mobile Solutions Center, “Without a mobiletracking system, it will be a mammoth task for the Food from the Heart to coordinate and track the delivery of the bread and the pastries to the homes all over Singapore. Fujitsu Asia is mosthappy and honored to be able to participate in this program by providing our system for thisworthwhile charity cause.”

Delivery Orders (DO)

In addition, the participating bakery outlets are required to issue a delivery order (DO),stating the quantity donated. The DO will be brought together with the bread to the home. The

homes and the SACs will be required to keep these receipts and the home coordinators willcollect them during their visits.

The DOs will allow the organization to issue a statement of total weight (in kilograms) of bread delivered per month. The hand-written DOs will be checked against the electronic log book at the end of the month. Spot checks will also be conducted throughout the month. These stepswill ensure that the leftover bread are delivered to the needed and are not abused or resold.

The Routing Coordination Process

The routing schedules are expanded in phases. All in all, the program runs on 114 routes,supported by volunteers on a consistent routine (As of May 2003). The routing is implemented as

below:

Phase No of routes Implementation Date Participating outlet Volunteers*A 30 080203 FL (14), PD (11), BL (5) 152B 11 120303 NTUC (11) 46C 24 200303 DF (5), PD (3), FL (2), SS 82

5 Please refer to appendix: Breakdown of operational Costs

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D 10 270303 DF (7), FL (2) 57E 4 180403 PD (3), BC (1) 13F 4 230403 DF (4) 21G 7 300403 DF (7) 42H 12 140503 SS2 (2), DF (10) 30

*Volunteer requirement is only estimation.**Data as of 26 th May 2003

FL= Four Leaves, PD = Prima Deli, BL = Blossom Ville, SS = Sun Shine, BC = Bakery’s culture

SS2 = Sandwich Shop

Collection timings differ but they are mostly in the space of 8 pm to 10.15pm in theevenings. This is so because bread outlets close at these times. However, there are some morningcollection timings at 8 am too. These morning collections are only possible if the bakeries havestorage facilities available to house the unsold bread. Volunteers will use these morning donationsto support various day-care centers and SACs island-wide.

The staff at FFTH reacts to instances when volunteers are not able to fulfill their deliveryresponsibility. FFTH has to instantly find a volunteer replacement and provide cover for the routeon the spot. This is invariably a problem in terms of operational reliability but the huge pool of volunteers now makes up for volunteer inconsistency.

Performance Measurement

To achieve maximal utility of the unsold bread, FFTH must try to match the consumptionlevel of homes against the quantities of unsold bread available. The level of consumption in thevarious welfare homes is often stable and can be anticipated by using the homes’ residential level.For the unsold bread however, FFTH will have to utilize its database to anticipate the best probable match.

The routing coordination system is still being refined but the main criterion used now isnot to have an oversupply to homes. This will lead to wastage again, and it should be noted thatthe homes are tolerable to small undersupply. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that thesupply quantities fluctuates over the weeks and cannot be predicted (See figure for anillustration).

Other bakery/home assignment criteria include the relative proximity, the dietaryrequirements of the homes and the financial condition of the homes. If a certain home is found toneed the support of the program more pressingly than the others, the staff in FFTH will prioritize

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such assignment cases. The figure below shows an assignment that was in used in the eastern partof the country. The numbers on both sides show the average supply and demand quantities.

The problem of assignment is often cushioned because volunteers are willing to go the

“extra mile” to make the collections and deliveries. Volunteers are willing to revise their collection/ delivery paths and some of them are even willing to cover a few routes within a day.

By consistently checking against the DOs with the data collation from the “Food Trek”system, the FFTH program is offering something which other similar initiatives could not providein the past: the element of accountability to the donors.

Some bakeries have had bad experiences with donations before. There were instanceswhen a few homes abused the donations by doing private re-selling. This certainly would haveaffected the bakeries’ business and reputation to the public. Because of such reasons, it is often amore sound business decision for the bakeries to dispose the bread than to donate them.

The FFTH program presents itself as an initiative that is credible. Accountability andmanagement of the program is centered at the organization, convincing donors that FFTH is areliable and trustworthy partner. The scalability of the program has not undermined the integrityof the delivery system simply because of the performance measurements in place.

Hence in sum, the issue of performance measurement is not only restricted to achievingmaximal utility from the collected bread, but also addresses the management and accountabilityof the donations for the less fortunate.

Volunteer Responsibility

In order to prevent unauthorized collections, volunteers are issued ID tags which carrytheir names, photos and IC numbers. They will also wear vests with the program’s logo for easier identification. Volunteers and coordinators need to put up car decals carrying the slogan “On amission to save food” to identify their vehicles.

Each volunteer will also carry with them an emergency packet containing plastic gloves,in case there is a need to handle the bread. It is important to ensure that the food is notcontaminated during the process of delivery. The delivery of the bread must also be done on thesame day of collection to ensure freshness. These bread donations should also be packed, readyfor delivery and transport.

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In the event that the volunteer collects a very small amount of unsold bread, the programwill still require the delivery to be made to the designated homes. All homes recognize that this isa donation and that quantities might fluctuate. The daily collection routine is something that thatdistinguishes the organization from other schemes.

A group leader is appointed for each district or zone and this volunteer will assist indealing with contingencies. There might be instances when volunteers need to travel from time totime. Hence the group leader will need to schedule replacements for such volunteers who cannotcover their designated delivery routes.

Some volunteers also take up roles as home coordinators to ensure that the objective of the program is met and that the welfare homes are comfortable with the service. The DOs are alsocollated by these home coordinators sometimes and passed on to the organization’s head office.

Volunteers involved in FFTH are required to endorse on a letter of undertaking. Thisletter will require volunteers to treat all information provided and knowledge of unsold bread asconfidential. Information and the source of information to any third party should not be disclosed

too without the organization’s prior written consent. Volunteers are willing to put their names onthis declaration form because they understand that unauthorized disclosed information might jeopardize the success and sustainability of the program to help the less fortunate.

FFTH hopes that volunteers will be at least committed for 3 months to the program. Itwill be preferable for the volunteers to stay in the program for about a year.

V. Future Outlook

Christine has set the organization’s strategic intent to be a local food distribution platformfor the less fortunate. She is currently approaching the Singapore Food Manufacturer’s

Association and intends to gather valuable input and support from its 250 members.

By having a well-coordinated distribution mechanism in place, donations can very wellmove beyond unsold bread. Already, Fraser and Neave is contributing some 250 cartons of smalland big packs of chocolate milk monthly for children’s home 6 and FFTH is appealing for donations of canned food now.

Besides food that is close to expiry, she is also hoping to get donations like test batches or even cans that are dented but whose contents remain safe from consumption.

Another very important problem Christine faces is the unnecessary food wastage in thecurrent system. The current dedicated one-bakery-one-home routing system would lead to the

mismatch between the random supplies from bakeries and constant demands of homes. Theunnecessary food wastage is not only contrary to the target of the food-saving program but alsocauses many problems. Firstly, the donors are unhappy with this, because they want FFTH toeffectively utilize the donated foods and distribute them to needy people. Secondly, thefluctuation in the supply makes life harder for to plan for food purchase as supplement to thedonated food. Thirdly, unnecessary supplies to the homes will only depress the morale of thevolunteers and donors.

6 Quoted from Streats, May 28 th 2003. “She’s got the can-do spirit”

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Realizing that these problems are caused by the dedicated delivery system, Christinewants to find out an effective way to improve the current delivery system. After a thoroughdiscussion with team members, she has managed to list a few options for solving the problem.

1) To build up a self-collection hub. Instead of sending the bakeries to homes directly,

foods collected from bakeries are sent to the hub first by volunteers. The foods will be stored in the hub for a short time and then be distributed to homes based on thecollections.

2) To develop a full flexible routing system. In the full flexible routing system, the foodfrom a bakery could be sent to any single home in the FFTH program. A volunteer need to SMS the system coordinator the amount of leftover food at the bakery he/shevisits. The coordinator will then optimally determine the destination and SMS it back to the volunteer for delivery. More volunteers will be assigned to do the delivery if the number of routes used is too large under this system.

3) To construct a partial flexible routing system. In the partial flexible routing system,

the food from a bakery could only be sent to a few, say two, optional homes, insteadof any home as the full flexible routing system. The delivery operations are similar tofull flexible routing system, except that the number of routes used is much smaller than the full flexibility system.

Christine wants to know the pros and cons of each option. She is also very interested inthe last option because it can be easily adopted by the current routing system. She plans to link each bakery with one more optional home, based on the current dedicated routing system, but shehas no idea how to link the bakeries and homes. She hopes to figure out a method to find a systemwith the least food wastage.

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Appendix: The News Article That Started Everything

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Appendix: Frequently Asked Questions on SMS System

Q. What if I forget the SMS format?A. FFTH will provide all volunteers with a simple step-by-step guide to enter the SMS on the back of a pocket/credit-card sized FFTH identity card. Please contact the FFTH hotline for further assistance if required.

Q. What if I forget to send in the SMS ?A. The system relies solely on the SMS to track the delivery of the food. Therefore it is of utmostimportance that the SMS is sent, no matter how late. If you are not sure if you have sent the SMS,or you have made a mistake, please contact the FFTH Hotline.

Q. My handphone battery is flat. Can I use my spouse/friend’s handphone to send the SMS ?A. The system ‘recognizes’ the mobile number from which the SMS is sent from. It must comefrom a registered volunteer’s handphone. This is a simple security mechanism to preventunwanted SMS. An alternative will be to insert your SIM card into the other handphone to sendthe SMS. Under the worst scenario, charge the handphone battery and send in the SMS later.

Q. I realize that I have made a mistake in the SMS that was just sent out. How can I makecorrections?A. There are 2 options. The first will be to send in another SMS. The latest SMS will overwritethe older SMS. The second option (preferred) is to call the FFTH hotline and inform thecoordinator. The coordinator will note down your information and make the necessarycorrections.

Q. How much do I pay for each SMS ?A. You will be charged based on your subscription plan that you have with your mobile operator. No additional cost will be charged or levied from the system. Based on the current rates published by the operator, once your subscription plan quota has been exceeded, each SMS sent out willcost 5.2¢.

Q. I will be changing my handphone and my number soon. Do I need to inform FFTH?A. Yes. FFTH will need to update your handphone number so that when you use the newhandphone to send the SMS, it will be able to recognize and accept it.

Q. I have a WAP/GPRS enabled handphone. Can I use the information using WAP?A. The FFTH Delivery Monitoring System is currently SMS-based. But there are plans to providea WAP version for the delivery information to be submitted. For WAP/GPRS fans, the WAPversion is just around the corner.

Q. I am using a pre-paid SIM card. Can I use it to send in the SMS ?A. Yes, as long as the number is registered with the system under your name, you can use it.

Q. How many SMS do I need to send out for each delivery ?A. You will be sending a SMS when you collect the food from the bakery. Then you will sendanother SMS when you have delivered the food to the home. Therefore, you will be sending out 2SMS per delivery.

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Appendix: Timeline of Organization

November 28, 2002 Report in ST that unsold bread and pastries were being dumped by many bakeries, Christine and Henry Laimer came forward with the idea to re-direct those quantities to the less fortunate.

December 2002 With the help of Straits Times and Gold 90 FM, a call for volunteers wasstarted and the reaction was overwhelming.Collaboration with CDCCS and NVC was formed.

December 18, 2002 First meeting with volunteers was held at the volunteer hub of CDC atToa Payoh

December 24, 2002 Donation of chocolate drinks by Fraser and Neave Foods Singapore wasdelivered to 5 homes before actual program is launched.

January 2003 40 identified homes were visited by a core team of our volunteers and a priority lists were drawn. Operational and legal issues were straightened.

January 13, 2003 A routing plan was established based on confirmed homes and participating homes and bakeries, creating 28 individual routes.

January 15, 2003 All registered volunteers were invited for a meeting, with the objective todistribute the 28 established collection/ delivery routes.

January 17, 2003 Fujitsu Asia agrees to set up and sponsor a tailor made Deliverymonitoring system called “Food trek”.

February 5, 2003 Distribution of Ang Paos to 9 Children’s home/ 650 recipients.

February 6, 2003 Training of volunteers

February 8, 2003 Date of first run. Program kicks off.

March 31, 2003 Organization records 800 registered volunteers

May, 2003 Relocation to permanent office at Goldhill Centre, Thomson Road.

June, 2003 Pilot for Self Collection Center

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Appendix: Breakdown of operational Costs

Item Description Cost/ Month Cost/ Year

Office Rental (1400 sf in Goldhill Plaza, $2600 X12, $31,200

Thomson Road) Office cum meeting room

Salary for 3 permanent staff incl. CPF $9000 X13, $117,000

Telephone, Internet, Handphone charges $3450 X12, $41,400Mass SMS software, utilities in office

Petty Cash expenses (cab fare, stationary $1000 X12, $12,000Refreshments for volunteers, etc)

Print Material (Delivery notes, namecards) $500 X12, $6,000

Total Cost $16550

Budget for unplanned cost $12,400Total operational costs per year $220,000

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