Ayam Brand Community Pantry

While times are tough due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysians are pulling together to support communities with kindness and trust, giving old methods such as communal food pantries an innovative spin.

WHILE times are tough due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysians are pulling together to support communities with kindness and trust, giving old methods such as communal food pantries an innovative spin.

The #AyamWithYou Food Pantry initiative, by Ayam Brand and 13 charity homes nationwide, is helping charities by empowering them to help surrounding communities

that are in need.

For example, the Anjung Singgah homeless shelter in Jalan Lekiu, Kuala Lumpur, is leading the way for surrounding communities by managing the #AyamWithYou pantry in that area.

"We are concerned for the wellbeing of some families here. We don't have much, but they have less," says Anjung Singgah Yayasan Kebajikan Negara, operations officer, Amir Rudin Abdul Rahman.

This year Ayam Brand has provided two months' supply of its products for Anjung Singgah and its residents and also suggested the food pantry or "gerobok rezeki" as a solution for the needy individuals in that area.

A weatherproof pantry and a separate stock of products have been provided by Ayam Brand for that purpose.

The weatherproof pantry has been set up outside the homeless shelter so that social distancing can be observed. It is open to the public round-the-clock.

Staff of the shelter update the community about the food pantry through community groups on social media and messaging apps, and they top up the Ayam Brand products daily.

"We sent out messages by WhatsApp and Facebook that the food pantry items are free for those in need, while those who want to contribute can add dry food, snacks, stationery, cleaning products and other essential items," says Amir.

Response to the initiative has been overwhelming with the daily allocation of Ayam Brand products such as tuna, baked beans, processed peas, canned pineapples

and coconut milk snapped up quickly, and other essentials being added, with strong support from the local community.

Donors have left fresh vegetables, dates, baby formula, diapers and even Raya cookies at the food pantry.

Through its long-running Corporate Social Responsibility programmes Ayam Brand has contributed more than two million healthy meals for charity, providing nutritious food to more than 21,800 people from 524 charity organisations and NGOs over the past 12 years.

This year the brand has supported Covid-19 frontliners at Hospital Sungai Buloh, 13 charity homes, the #AyamWithYou food pantry initiative, and the Anjung Singgah Kuala Lumpur Homeless Transit centre, with plans to support more organisations and communities.

"Covid-19 drastically changed our plans for the 13th annual Ayam Brand Community Care Campaign, but we see the positive impact of the #AyamWithYou

Food Pantry initiative. It changes the narrative for our charity home partners, from being recipients to becoming contributors and donors in their respective communities," says Ayam Brand Malaysia's marketing manager, Nathan Deverre.

The community here has embraced the food pantry concept of "take what you need, leave what you can" he explains, creating a virtuous cycle that is sustaining the initiative.

Ayam Brand staff have also helped spread the word on the food pantry so that more can benefit or contribute, and started the ball rolling by being among the first to

contribute non-food items to the pantry.

The #AyamWithYou food pantry is located at Anjung Singgah in Jalan Hang Lekiu, Kuala Lumpur and at Pertubuhan Kebajikan Kasih Nurul Hasanah in Ukay Heights, Ampang.