The Taichung experience has gained a recognition abroad! NHK commissioned the Japan News Broadcasting Corporation to produce a special program on the global food shortage issue. Being the first in the country to establish a food bank, pass the Food Bank Self-Governance Ordinance, and launch an interdepartmental promotion on the use of multiple food ingredients, Taichung has successfully attracted the attention of the Japan News Broadcasting Corporation, which traveled across the ocean to Taichung for a reporting trip. After completing the production, the program will be broadcasted in Japan, the United States and Europe, promoting Taichung’s efforts in building a “No Hunger Safety Network” on the world stage.

According to Liao Ching-chih, Director of the Social Affairs Bureau, Taichung City established a charity food exchange platform after passing the Food Bank Self-Governance Ordinance in 2017. Through this platform, 8 public retail markets can distribute leftover or less-than-perfect vegetables and fruits to community care and support centers for the elderly to cook their meals. In this program, Japan News Broadcasting Corporation filmed not only about the said markets and centers, but also how brick-and-mortar food bank branches distribute food resources and how kitchen waste at Waipu Green Energy Ecological Park is reused. The production team spent an entire week gathering materials to record how Taichung City Government effectively reduced food waste and promoted the use of leftover food.

Director Liao also explained that the Food Bank Self-Governance Ordinance not only promotes interdepartmental collaboration and teamwork but has also attracted private organizations to join the food bank team. Since 2017, the number of disadvantaged families assisted by the food bank has increased from 35,475 to 47,008, while donations from caring citizens, kind-hearted enterprises, and local resources have increased from NTD 11,974,827 to NTD 16,328,637. These donations have provided sufficient supplies to help those in need weather the storms of life.

The Bureau sated that Taichung City now has three brick-and-mortar food bank branches, 33 distribution centers and 17 private-sector alliance stations. In addition, to take care of children of economically disadvantaged families, the Bureau has partnered with the five major convenience store chains (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK mart, and Funcom Supermarket) in the region to set up “love and caring stations”; and established the “Taichung City Charity Platform” to manage donated resources and to organize their distribution, actively promoting United Nation’s SDG of “No Poverty”. In the future, the Bureau plans to further promote the “leftover food exchange platform”, invite more private organization to participate, and use the media to encourage people to cherish food and avoid waste.