Daniel Tay Choon Lim

In 2018, Daniel co-founded SG Food Rescue, a ground-up movement to collect unsellable food from businesses and redistribute them to different communities of people who can use it, including KampungBishan. Since then, different individuals, inspired by the movement, have started different food rescue groups in Singapore to target different sectors of the food supply chain (importers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, consumers). As the food rescue movement in Singapore grows, with the different groups working collectively to help reduce food waste, hundreds of tonnes of food are being saved from going to the bins every week. In 2019, Daniel retired from full-time work in order to volunteer full time towards this cause to reduce food waste.

Daniel also started multiple food rescue programmes at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre and Little India in 2018, which are still ongoing today under the different leaders he appointed. Every week, hundreds of volunteers continue to be mobilised to collect unsellable food from businesses, and use their own vehicles to transport the food to communities that can use it.

Though often uncredited, Daniel was instrumental in helping to set up Fridge Restock Community SG, a food rescue group that currently rescues and redistributes about 5 tonnes of food every week to 18 different community fridges across the island, feeding at least 1,000 families every week. Prior to this programme, which was set up in 2018, there was only one community fridge in Singapore.

His future plans include helping sharing communities gain approval and support from Residents Committees to set up sharing shelves at their void decks. The sharing shelves allow  residents to place items or food that they no longer want for sharing with other residents who may need it. Through the sharing of unwanted items and food, Daniel hopes to help build communities where residents share things, look out for each other, and care for their neighbours.