Helping to feed the hungry in Japan

The Japan Times has an article up about Second Harvest Japan, a food bank organization that helps feed Japan’s poor and hungry. Most of the article follows the activities of executive director Charles McJilton:

As he talks of how Second Harvest saves companies considerable disposal costs and gives them free PR in process, his frustration subsides and he becomes thoughtful. “Most see us and our staff as ‘helping people,’ but I don’t define us like that. I just see companies throwing away excess food, and I see people who need it. We are a vehicle for getting from point A to B. Companies have a bunch of patches for bikes that need to be repaired, and these people have a bunch of flat tires.”

The entrepreneurial approach appears to be working. Nichirei, Japan’s largest frozen food importer, began donating in 2005, a breakthrough that McJilton says helped lead the way for other companies. To date, more than 200 companies, foreign and Japanese, have donated at some time to Second Harvest. More significantly, the recent food-banking symposium held at Shinsei Bank on Oct. 16 pulled in over 150 participants, of which only three were foreigners.

“Now that is incredible,” says McJilton. “The rest were Japanese and from all walks of life. Two years ago, 70 percent would have been foreigners.”

His overall outlook, however, is not necessarily rosy. “I don’t want to be pessimistic, but the reality is we have at least 650,000 people who lack food security in Japan, and that figure does not include migrant workers or those with low-income families. Yet there is no systematic way to get these people the aid they need. What we do is to send out packages from our pantry, but that’s just a drop in the bucket considering how many people are in need.”

More info can be found on Second Harvest Japan’s homepage.

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