Food Security Program: Reducing Food Waste and Improving Food Access for Vulnerable Communities in Medan City

Fharcha Fahrica; Aditya Muhammad; Putra Apriadi Siregar; Siti Suci Larasati; Rani Suraya; Lisa Moon

doi:10.30829/adzkia.v5i2.17429

Food Security Program: Reducing Food Waste and Improving Food Access for Vulnerable Communities in Medan City

Fharcha Fahrica, Aditya Muhammad, Putra Apriadi Siregar, Siti Suci Larasati, Rani Suraya, Lisa Moon

Abstract

The Aksata Pangan program aims to reduce food waste by rescuing surplus food from restaurants, hotels, and bakeries that is still safe for consumption, and then distributing it to vulnerable communities in Medan City, such as orphanages and community centers. The program involves collaboration with the private sector and promotes public awareness of the importance of reducing food waste. During implementation, more than 500 kilograms of food were saved and distributed, providing direct benefits to over 10 orphanages and community centers. A social impact evaluation was conducted through observations, interviews, and questionnaires, which showed that the program succeeded in increasing access to food for people in need and raising awareness about more efficient food management. The results of this program indicate that collaboration between the private sector and non-profit organizations has great potential to reduce food waste and improve social welfare. This program is also expected to serve as a model for sustainable, community-based food management in other regions.

Keywords

Food Security, Food Waste, Food Distribution, Private Sector, Community Empowerment, Food Sustainability.

Full Text:

PDF

References

Amicarelli, V., & Bux, C. (2021). Food waste in Italian households during the Covid-19 pandemic: a self-reporting approach. Food Security, 13(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-020-01121-z

Bittner, B., Vida, V., Szakos, D., Kasza, G., Kovács, S., & Nagy, A. (2025). A study of the behavioral and environmental factors influencing food waste in higher education. Cleaner Waste Systems, 11(September 2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clwas.2025.100256

Chen, C., Chaudhary, A., & Mathys, A. (2020). Nutritional and environmental losses embedded in global food waste. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 160(December 2019), 104912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104912

Cisse, R. S., Aguilar, F. S., Ezenagu, S. B., Cisse, M. S., & Niang, A. (2025). Characterization of food waste in Grizzly Dining Hall at Georgia Gwinnett College: A critical step toward sustainable food waste management. Heliyon, 11(2), e41750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41750

de los Mozos, E. A., Badurdeen, F., & Dossou, P. E. (2020). Sustainable consumption by reducing food waste: A review of the current state and directions for future research. Procedia Manufacturing, 51, 1791–1798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.10.249

Durán-Sandoval, D., Durán-Romero, G., & Uleri, F. (2023). How Much Food Loss and Waste Do Countries with Problems with Food Security Generate? Agriculture (Switzerland), 13(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13050966

Gage, E., Wang, X., Xu, B., Foster, A., Evans, J., Terry, L. A., & Falagán, N. (2024). Reducing food loss and waste contributes to energy, economic and environmental sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 451(April). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142068

Haque, A., Karunasena, G. G., & Pearson, D. (2022). Household food waste and pathways to responsible consumer behaviour: evidence from Australia. British Food Journal, 124(11), 3783–3802. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-05-2021-0517

Hoogeveen, H. (2019). Addressing Food Loss and Waste: A Global Problem with Local Solutions. World Bank Group. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1189/

Jobson, D., Nabi, N., Karunasena, G. G., Pearson, D., & Dunstan, E. (2025). “Throwing out your food is throwing out your money”: Measuring the impact and longevity of interventions on food waste in households. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 218(February), 108222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108222

Khatun, T., & Hossain, M. E. (2024). Effects of Socio-economic and Behavioral Factors on Urban Household Food Waste Practices in Bangladesh : A Regression Analysis Effects of Socio-economic and Behavioral Factors on Urban Household Food Waste Practices in Bangladesh : A Regression Analysis. Journal of Harbin Engineering University, 45(10), 138–149.

Kolawole, I. D., Kolawole, G. O., Sanni-manuel, B. A., Kolawole, S. K., Ewansiha, J. U., Kolawole, V. A., & Kolawole, F. O. (2024). Economic impact of waste from food, water, and agriculture in Nigeria: challenges, implications, and applications—a review. Discover Environment, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-024-00086-6

Krah, C. Y., Burke, D. T., Bahramian, M., Hynds, P., & Priyadarshini, A. (2025). Quantifying metabolic food waste and associated global warming potential attributable to overweight and obese adults in a temperate high-income region. Food Research International, 209(December 2024), 116309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2025.116309

Landells, E., Muurlink, O., Karunasena, G. G., Oakden, S., & Naweed, A. (2025). Stepping up to the plate: Leadership and local government waste managers opinions of household food waste interventions. Waste Management, 198(February), 161–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2025.02.054

Llagas, B. R., Jenkins, E. L., Brennan, L., Parker, L., Schivinski, B., & Lockrey, S. (2025). Consumer perceptions of date labelling and storage advice and its relationship with food waste: A systematic scoping review of the academic & grey literature. Future Foods, 11(February), 100577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2025.100577

Malefors, C., Sjölund, A., & Sundin, N. (2025). Food waste quantities, carbon footprint and nutrient loss in university students’ households in Sweden. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 54(November 2024), 441–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.01.017

Nguyen, T. T. T., Hetherington, J. B., O’Connor, P. J., & Malek, L. (2025). Sustainable food consumption: Sustainability-conscious consumers do not reduce food waste but nutrition-conscious consumers do. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 219(October 2024), 108296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108296

Pandey, A. (2021). Food Wastage: Causes, Impacts and Solutions. Science Heritage Journal, 5(1), 17–20. https://doi.org/10.26480/gws.01.2021.17.20

Seberini, A. (2020). Economic, social and environmental world impacts of food waste on society and Zero waste as a global approach to their elimination. SHS Web of Conferences, 74, 03010. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20207403010

Sigala, E. G., Gerwin, P., Chroni, C., Abeliotis, K., Strotmann, C., & Lasaridi, K. (2025). Reducing food waste in the HORECA sector using AI-based waste-tracking devices. Waste Management, 198(September 2024), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2025.02.044

Silayo, D. M., Bongole, A. J., & Kulwijila, M. (2025). Analysing disparities between household food waste metrics and their socioeconomic drivers in Chamwino District , Tanzania. Waste Management Bulletin, 3(3), 100206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100206

Skawińska, E., & Zalewski, R. I. (2022). Combining the Water–Energy–Food and Food Waste–Food Loss–Food Security Nexuses to Reduce Resource Waste. Energies, 15(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/en15165866

Slorach, P. C., Jeswani, H. K., Cuéllar-Franca, R., & Azapagic, A. (2020). Assessing the economic and environmental sustainability of household food waste management in the UK: Current situation and future scenarios. Science of the Total Environment, 710, 135580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135580

Song, K., Baiocchi, G., Feng, K., Hubacek, K., & Sun, L. (2022). Unequal household carbon footprints in the peak-and-decline pattern of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 368, 132650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132650

Werkman, A., van Doorn, J., van Ittersum, K., & Kok, A. (2025). No waste like home: How the good provider identity drives excessive purchasing and household food waste. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 103(February 2024), 102564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102564

Wu, J., Zou, Y., Chen, Z., Xue, L., & Manzardo, A. (2025). Reducing potential retail food waste through a data-driven dynamic shelf life approach: Insights from consumer engagement. Applied Food Research, 5(1), 100819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2025.100819

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30829/adzkia.v5i2.17429