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As many as 300 Â鶹ֱ²¥ (UUM) students will benefit from the UUM Students Food Bank programme overseen by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MoDTCA), making UUM the 13th public university to implement the programme.

Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the programme was being implemented at public universities as an initiative to help the needy students, whilst helping them address the cost of living issue.

According to him, the ministry aimed to expand the Students Food Bank programme to 20 public universities across Malaysia by the end of the year.

He said that through the Food Bank Malaysia Foundation, he had taken the initiative to connect the industries involved not only supermarkets but also manufacturers of food products, restaurants and hotels with transporters involved in helping to channel assistance in the form of food to the university.

"As of July 2019, a total of 3,820 students nationwide have benefited from this programme where the Students Food Bank is introduced through two methods: Food Pantry and Central Kitchen," he said at the UUM Students Food Bank Programme Launching Ceremony at EDC Hotels and Resorts.

He expressed hopes that the UUM Students Food Bank programme would be successfully implemented continuously and will garner the unwavering cooperation of the parties involved.

The Students Food Bank Programme is a follow-up to the Food Bank Malaysia programme, one of the initiatives implemented by MoDTCA to help reduce the cost of living of the people and save food surplus.

As of August 2019, a total of 275,497 members of household have benefited from the programme, indirectly saving a total of 1,687 metric tons of food surplus.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dato' Dr Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani said the virtuous efforts of implementing the Students Food Bank was very timely especially at a time when the global and local economic situation seemed uncertain, people are burdened by the high cost of living, thus affecting students in public universities.

Therefore, he said, to address this, UUM would require the involvement of various government and private agencies by means of seeking funding and resources to help these students.

"In addition, UUM has also undertaken various initiatives to assist students in the areas of social welfare and physical development, including the On-Campus Job initiative and Suspended Meal Voucher activity, a MYR5 per day Free Food Coupon programme for B40 students with household income from MYR 1 up to MYR500. In addition to that we are also actively involved in the efforts to raise additional funds to be channelled into the University Student Cost of Living Assistance Account.

"As for the Food Bank initiative, UUM has successfully set up the Students Goods Collection Centre located at the Student Accommodation Centre (SAC). The goods are later distributed to 15 student residential halls. The concept of Food Bank at UUM is a bit different compared to other universities where it is managed by Student Representative Council and Student Leadership Development Committee (DOSH). These two bodies are assisted by university officials to ensure that distribution of food can be done in a fair and systematic manner," he said.

He added that such a programme would benefit not only the beneficiaries but also the contributors especially in reducing food wastage in the industry or in local supermarkets, and the university also welcomed cooperation from NGOs who had been appointed as the Strategic Partner of the Food Bank Programme Malaysia namely Food Aid Foundation, Kechara Soup Kitchen and Mutiara Food Bank.

The launch of the UUM Students Food Bank programme was officiated by Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, the Sultan of Kedah. Later, the Sultan also consented to present zakat contribution made by the Kedah Darul Aman Zakat Authority, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) to 400 UUM asnaf students.

Later, the Vice-Chancellor launched the Central Pantry Food Bank at the Student Accommodation Centre (SAC).