Educating for Food Sustainability

Engaging Youths in Singapore and Driving Community Action

Food Bank Singapore aims to eliminate food insecurity and reduce food waste—two significant yet often overlooked social issues in Singapore—by redistributing surplus food through community pantries, emergency rations, and daily meal programs. They also hold classes in nutrition and food education. In this report, we propose concrete ways to extend this program to students between the ages of 5 to 20, teaching them about food waste and insecurity through a range of informational and interactive activities.

Understanding the Scope of Food Insecurity

A majority of our data on food insecurity in Singapore are drawn from the groundbreaking research conducted by Food Bank Singapore in collaboration with Singapore Management University. Together, they compiled a comprehensive report analyzing the state of food insecurity in Singapore. This study is particularly significant as it marks the first partnership of its kind between a non-profit organization and a higher education institution in Singapore, ensuring that their findings are rigorous and unbiased.

Our proposed campaign contextualizes Singapore’s food insecurity within a broader framework, strengthening the key messages that we aim to communicate to students. While only 3.5% of households face severe food insecurity, this still translates to tens of thousands of residents experiencing hunger and psychological distress, including feelings of sadness, stress, and hopelessness. A 2023 Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Report report showed that 42.7% Singaporeans say they “sometimes” experience food insecurity. Furthermore, there’s a public knowledge gap—just 21.9% of food-secure individuals are aware of someone who is food-insecure.

What to do about Food Waste

Food waste exacerbates the ongoing food shortage in Singapore, which imports over 90% of its food and loses approximately 2.54 billion SGD (∼1.93 billion USD) annually to wasted imports. In 2019, the nation wasted 774,000 tonnes of food, rising to over 817,000 tonnes by 2021. That includes 144,000 tonnes lost during import, 116,000 during distribution, and an additional 5,000 in local production. Much of this waste is due to rigid “aesthetic” standards, where otherwise adequate, healthy, and edible food is discarded due to factors such as unconventional color or shape. By understanding the severity of these issues, we can better address the issue of food wastage on a local and global scale. 

This project aims to inform students and empower them to act. They are encouraged to join environmental clubs, participate in the Love Your Food campaign, and volunteer to help construct compost bins and plant public gardens. 

At home, students can share sustainable strategies such as meal planning, cooking using leftovers, and making at-home compost bins to reduce food wastage. Through programs such as Food Bank’s Food Drive and Joy in Every Bundle, families can work to reduce food wastage and help out their community.

Students are also exposed to global models for inspiration. France’s 2016 law requires supermarkets to donate unsold food, for example. By highlighting global examples of food management strategies, students become informed citizens able to drive meaningful environmental change.

Educational Strategy by Age Group

Food insecurity is an issue that pertains to every human being, and the goal should be to create a more sustainable future. Our educational campaign informs Singaporean youths of all ages about current issues around food insecurity—nationally and globally. We provide them with next steps for ways in which they can make a positive impact within their communities, transforming abstract issues into tangible actions.

Our project is tailored to fit the abilities and interests of students of different ages. We chose age ranges that align with Singapore’s educational structure.

Ages 5–8: Younger children are taught about food waste and insecurity through stories and interactive activities, framed as a “Tea Party Adventure.” These activities reinforce concepts of sharing and fairness. 

Ages 9–12: A few of the easier-to-understand statistics are presented. Then, students participate in a “MasterChef”-style activity where they transform various food items into artwork. Afterwards, they learn simple recipes using food items that are usually discarded.

Ages 13–16: For the older age groups, we give a 20 minute long presentation, followed by a “choose-your-own-adventure” game that immerses students in decision-making scenarios around food waste and sustainability. They also watch an interview with Food Bank Singapore’s Executive Director, Arthur Chin.

Ages 17–20: Older students read through the presentation slides (similar to those for ages 13-16), watch the video interview, and engage in small-group and all-class discussions. They are encouraged to organize school food drives and volunteer. 

Inspiring Student Engagement through Interactive Activities

The “MasterChef”-style activity—where students transform leftover fruits and vegetables into creative edible artworks—draws inspiration from successful real-world challenges like the Development Bank of Singapore’s (DBS) “Hungry for Change” and “Zero Food Waste Challenge,” in partnership with MasterChef Singapore. In these initiatives, teams across Singapore tackled food waste by designing campaigns and sustainable recipes to reduce waste in their communities. By mimicking this challenge in a school setting, students learn about food preservation, upcycling, and resourcefulness. 

Similarly, the Salvation Army’s “MasterChef Experience” uses cooking as a hands-on educational tool to raise awareness about nutrition, proving that culinary interaction resonates across age groups and creates meaningful connections between food, health, and community. This form of immersive learning experience engages students’ intrinsic motivation, transforming abstract concepts of sustainability into tangible outcomes they can be proud of, instilling long-term habits of waste reduction and food appreciation.

For younger students of ages 5-8, the interactive storytelling activity “The Great Tea Party Adventure” serves as a powerful tool for building empathy and inspiring action. The immersive virtual reality (VR) case study “Meltdown” demonstrated that scenario-based learning—where individuals make choices that impact food systems—improves understanding and shifts attitudes toward sustainability. As such, a similar storytelling activity is adopted with the 13-16 age group but using a more in-depth “choose-your-own-adventure” activity. As it would not be feasible to provide all Singaporean educators with VR equipment, the core mechanism of narrative immersion allows students to create imaginative, immersive spheres of involvement. 

In Singapore, educators have found success using storytelling to engage young learners with food security topics, allowing them to sympathize with farmers, consumers, and food rescuers. Ultimately, these activities inspire the youth to volunteer and waste less food, granting them the agency and emotional investment to effect positive societal change. Fostering a sense of personal impact is key—whether it’s taking on the role of a “Food Hero” or making simple decisions to reduce food waste, the stories students live through have the power to shape their everyday lives. 

Cover photo courtesy of RawPixel.