The online food bank set up by Phoong.
KOTA KINABALU: Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe launches first ever online food bank in collaboration with MoreFun.
“This is our attempt to bring in a modern, technological, creative and convenient platform to ensure aids reach more underprivileged families,” said the DAP representative.
The former Youth and Sports Minister set up an online food bank on MoreFun named “Food Bank ADUN Luyang”.
“Those who need food assistance just have to download MoreFun and choose the items they need; the riders would then deliver to their door. It is to ease those who require aid, it is as simple as normal food deliveries.
“There might be technical issues as the initiative is very new and in a trial period that would last for a month. We do plan to expand to more areas if it runs smoothly to benefit more people that are affected hardly by this lockdown,” said Phoong.
He explained that the initiative would initially start in Luyang first.
“We have limited the area to Luyang in the initial stage, we would like to apologize to those who could not use the platform yet.
“However, our hotline service will continue, if you are in other areas and need our food assistance, you can kindly contact us at 0109698845/0168991137,” said Phoong
He also explained further regarding the procedure.
“You just have to search ‘Food Bank ADUN Luyang’ on MoreFun and then pick any four items or lunch box, then our riders would deliver to your door.
“MoreFun is also providing a convenient platform as it allows others to order for their families or friends, children can help their parents or grandparents that are not tech savvy to order the care aid or lunch boxes,” shared Phoong.
The DAPSY Sabah chief hopes that the initiative would achieve two main purposes which is ensuring aids would reach those in need and also protect their identity as some might shy away from help.
“We do not need the public to raise white flags nor contact us to ask for help, they can order themselves and this would protect them from any exposure.
“We need more resources as the platform is at its initial stage and we predict that many would be seeking for food aid. We hope that the kind public would continue to lend a helping hand to those in need and donate us some goods to sustain the operation,” he said.
The Luyang representative also stated that he would utilize his allocations to purchase items to ensure there is sufficient aid for those in need. He also urged the public to not simply abuse the platform.
“I hope that the public would not abuse the platform and leave the food aids to those who are truly in need and we welcome those who are capable to donate to us, we welcome any goods or lunch boxes.
For those who are interested in donating can kindly contact Desmond at 016-8991137.
“We acknowledge our shortcomings and know that technical errors might occur during this trial period, we hope that the public stay patient with us and we apologize in advance if any inconvenience is caused,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Phoong shared that the idea came after distributing thousands of food aids amid this lockdown.
“I have been thinking everyday on how to improve our operations and reach more people in need amid this lockdown because we understand that not everyone is able to reach out to us or see our hotline.
“Hotline service and home visits are exhausting big amount of human resources and time, we might also overlook some working families. We hope to introduce this new platform to help more people.
“Some people are also not willing to raise a white flag when they are in need. We hope that these people would receive help through our new platform,” he said.
Phoong commended MoreFun entrepreneur Oscar for collaborating to benefit more families in need amid this pandemic.
“I hope more kind donors are willing to come together to help those in need during this pandemic as many are affected severely. I would also like to thank Oscar for standing out for the community during these difficult time.
“Thanks to those who have been supporting our operations, we will continue to strive for the people of Luyang,” stated Phoong.
Donation details are as below:
Bank account: Luyang Community Centre
Bank number: 3211815524
Bank: Public Bank Berhad