Come every festive season, be it Christmas, Chinese New Year or Hari Raya, I’ve always been seized with mild panic. In this food-crazed island, every festive holiday is celebrated with a mind-boggling variety of rich and delicious food. Eateries and food-shops of all shapes and sizes get in on the act, outdoing one another with delicious concoctions to tantalise consumer tastebuds. Cakes, kuehs and breads are transformed into exotic epicurean delights to woo the adventurous eater. But after the greetings and holiday cheer evaporate, and we all tread gingerly onto our weighing scales, what is to become of the mountains of unsold, leftover festive goodies? Are they all to go to waste, consigned to the overflowing landfills of Singapore?

Now that Food from the Heart has entered the scene, I panic no longer. Instead, I sleep well in the knowledge that a large proportion of the festive goodies will be donated to FFTH and shared with the less fortunate, so that they too can enjoy some holiday cheer. Help the less fortunate AND save the earth – what a winning formula! And win we certainly did, at the Inaugural National Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards. Our significant contribution to the local volunteerism scene has made people sit up and take notice. Read our cover story to find out more.

Indeed, the award marks the end of an exciting and fulfilling year where we’ve launched more distribution schemes which maximise our extensive network of volunteers, benefactors and beneficiaries. We’ve gone beyond distributing food, having launched Books from the Heart and Toys from the Heart. We’ve also stepped up our food distribution drive, going beyond serving people in homes, to helping needy families through our self-collection centres.

If success breeds success, then this year’s achievements certainly bode well for FFTH, and for the less advantaged in Singapore. For if we at FFTH keep up our tireless efforts, and continue to come up with innovative ways of helping the less fortunate, fewer people will go without.

Now how’s that for ending the year on a sweet note?

Sun, Editor