In line with the government’s vision, the University of Malaya recently introduced Food Bank to ease the burden of students from low-income families especially those under the B40 category. The idea of this programme was initiated by an undergraduate student from the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, Umar Aiman Abd Manan who witnessed the struggle faced by his fellow university mates to cope with their lives as students.
Food Bank UM receives the support from local food retailers i.e. Tesco, Aeon Big and Komugi where these retailers supply food items for the on-campus food bank.
Aside from the assistance from eight of Umar’s friends to run this programme, he was also guided by Puan Norhayati Ismail, Operations Director of the Food Aid Foundation and Mr. Justin Cheah, Director of the Kenchara Soup Society.
The initiative is also recognised by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd, the Deputy Secretary General (Domestic Trade) was present to officiate the launch of Food Bank programme and also participated in the distribution of food to 200 students. Seeing the spirit of volunteerism among students, the Students Affairs and Alumni Affairs Division led by Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman supports the initiative by providing a venue for the Food Bank to run the Central Kitchen where they distribute packed meals to the underprivileged students.
Sumber: Universiti Malaya
