43-year-old Yip who has been selling vegetables in Little India for over 15 years, noticed that a vegetable seller dumps up to 20kg of “ugly” vegetables everyday.
Yip added that these vegetables are thrown away because they do not look enticing enough for customers to buy, but are otherwise good for consumption.
In order to reduce wastage, Yip set out to collect unwanted vegetables from the wholesale market every week with a group of volunteers. On average, he collects about 800kg to 1 ton of vegetables every week.
Yip then set up a voluntary organization named “Fridge Restock Community” which stocks up “ugly” vegetables and other produce to be given away to those less fortunate.
Yip says that this is a win-win situation, where the vegetables are not wasted, and that the low-income families get to benefit from free groceries.