Cathay and Feeding HK celebrate 10 years of addressing environmental challenges together

Cathay and Feeding Hong Kong have celebrated over 10 years of working together to address environmental and social challenges through their surplus food rescue programme.

Driven by their shared values of being a positive force for the community and sustainability leadership, Cathay and Feeding Hong Kong collect surplus food items from inbound Cathay Pacific flights to Hong Kong that would otherwise be sent to landfills and repurpose them to tackle food waste and support underprivileged members of the community.

Cathay is the first airline to partner with Feeding Hong Kong. Since the programme’s launch in 2014, 2,250 tonnes of food have been collected and redistributed to people in need, benefitting 260,000 individuals over the past decade. To facilitate the initiative, Feeding Hong Kong has employees permanently located at Cathay Dining, which operates the Cathay Group’s flight kitchen at Hong Kong International Airport.

Feeding Hong Kong collects various kinds of packaged food and beverage items donated from Cathay Pacific flights, including bottled water, juices, canned beverages, soft drinks, snacks, cereal, UHT milk and fresh fruit. After being collected, food items are transported to Feeding Hong Kong’s 11,500-square-foot temperature-controlled warehouse in Yau Tong.

All food collected by Feeding Hong Kong is required to be in good condition to eat with a reasonable window for food to be collected, redistributed and consumed before the expiry date. The expiry dates and packaging conditions of each item are checked one by one to ensure they are safe for consumption.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of their partnership, a special event was held at Feeding Hong Kong’s warehouse, hosted by Cathay chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau, and Feeding Hong Kong founder and CEO Gabrielle Kirstein OBE.

Lau said: “As Hong Kong’s home airline for nearly 80 years, Cathay has deep roots in our home city. We are committed to moving our community forward in life by being a dedicated force of positivity, and our partnership with Feeding Hong Kong is a testament to what can be achieved when businesses and non-profit organisations come together to uplift our communities and create lasting positive impacts. I would like to sincerely thank our teams, our partners at Feeding Hong Kong, as well as the many volunteers from across Cathay over the years who have helped make this meaningful initiative possible.”

Feeding Hong Kong’s Kirstein said: “Our wonderful partnership with Cathay is a true testament to the community and purpose-driven spirit of Hong Kong’s favourite airline. Each and every week, their donation of surplus snacks, drinks, and fresh fruit, fuels over 150 of our frontline charity partners, who are working tirelessly to support vulnerable communities."

“We respect the commitment that Cathay made during the pandemic to rethink waste strategies and their steadfast resolve to continue to donate unavoidable excess stock and find a valuable new home for quality surplus," Kirstein added.

“It really is a pleasure to collaborate with an organisation that is willing to go the extra mile, supporting us with a bounty of helping hands, sponsorship and more, to help us move ahead on our journey to bridge the gap between surplus and need.”

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