HONG KONG, June 15 (Xinhua) -- At dusk, as the hustle and bustle of Nam Cheong Place market in Hong Kong subsided, Food Angel's food collector Ah Chun began her work.
She collected unsold vegetables from each stall, carefully sorted them, and handed them to the logistics team. Together with other surplus food gathered across the city, all items were sent to a central kitchen for safety checks and cooking.
Founded in 2011, Food Angel is Hong Kong's first food rescue program, where surplus edible food is strictly checked, turned into nutritious meals, and distributed free to people in need. Over 34 million meals have been prepared and distributed so far.
Currently, an average of 38 tons of surplus food is rescued by Food Angel each week, with over 25,000 meals prepared and distributed daily.
At noon and evening on weekdays, Food Angel's community center in Sham Shui Po served free meals to over 300 eligible residents. On one such day at noon, Ms. Hung, aged nearly 80, was having a minced meal specially designed for elderly people.
"I live alone and my teeth aren't very strong. Here, I can enjoy delicious meals and feel a sense of warmth and care, which is important for elderly people like us," Hung said.
Among the beneficiaries of Food Angel, 73 percent are elderly people living in poverty, 20 percent come from low-income families, and the rest belong to other vulnerable groups.
"If only surplus safe food could be given to poor elderly," said Gigi Tung, founder of Food Angel, recalling how the idea of Food Angel began with a photo of an elderly woman struggling to push a cart piled with waste cardboard through bustling Central district.
Tung later founded a charity fund to realize her vision. In 2011, Food Angel was born with the mission "WASTE NOT. HUNGER NOT. WITH LOVE."
As the demand for food assistance rose, Food Angel set up its own kitchen, hired cooks, and established a food safety system.
Funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Food Angel opened the city's first large-scale food rescue and production facility in October 2025. The facility rescues more than 660 tons of edible surplus food annually, producing over 11 million meals for 45,000 people in need.
Food Angel gathered food from over 500 collecting points, including hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, wet markets and other shops daily. Its operations strictly follow ISO22000, an international standard for food safety management, with multiple safety checks.
In addition to nearly 300 full-time and part-time staff members, Food Angel relies on 150 volunteers from all walks of life to keep operations running.
These volunteers shared the same passion, despite coming from diverse sectors and varied ages and backgrounds. Ledia Kwok is one of them.
A decade ago, Kwok retired from an airline and started working as a volunteer at Food Angel's community center, serving meals, guiding new volunteers, and caring for elderly diners with dedication, without pay.
"Working here gives me a sense of mission and pride," Kwok said.
Over 15 years, Food Angel has witnessed many touching stories. Some students and residents who once received meal assistance later became volunteers themselves, helping others.
Food Angel also emphasized education, teaching the public, especially young people, to cherish food and care for the less privileged. It offers food conservation and life education activities to around 30,000 local young people each year.
With rising awareness of food conservation, some companies have tightened their ingredient management, resulting in fewer food donations. To ensure food supply, Food Angel sometimes has to purchase ingredients, creating financial pressure.
Nevertheless, the organization remained committed to raising the daily meal supply to 40,000 to 50,000, benefiting more people in need and improving soft meal services for the elderly, said Katrina Cheng, Food Angel's education manager.
"As long as there are people in need, we will continue our work," Cheng said. ■
