Plentyfull Turns Ugly Food into Beautiful Wholesome Meals

I’m one of those who hate wasting food. I would hear my mum’s voice echoing in my head on how the poor had to live with hunger as I stared into my half-eaten plate of food. Perhaps I should not have overorder or pile up my plate with too much food. Sounds familiar? Food waste is one thing and food insecurity is another. Do you know that there are certain sections of the society in Singapore who do not have or are not confident of having access to nutritious food for a healthy living?

Food Insecurity in Singapore

According to a Lien Centre for Social Innovation study, food insecurity can affect as high as 27 percent of the population in Singapore. Due to finance, time and health constraints, there are people in Singapore who faces food insecurity issues.

One-Dish@A-Time

In Singapore, to heighten the awareness of food insecurity in Singapore, The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG) has launched the One-Dish@A-Time campaign. Through this meaningful campaign, they hope to encourage consumers to have meals made from ugly and donated food. 

They are roping in participating restaurants to create unique dishes using imperfect and frequently discarded food products. And Plentyfull is the first restaurant to take part in this campaign. Their chefs have created special dishes for the restaurant’s lunch set menu using food donations that FBSG receives regularly. Part of the proceeds from these meals will go to FBSG to feed the needy in Singapore.

Food Transformation

I was there a couple of weeks ago to witness how Plentyfull turns ugly food into beautiful nutritious meals. 

Tuna Puttanesca on Organic Pasta

Each dish is crafted from a mixed of ingredients obtained from The Food Bank Singapore as well as from the restaurant’s own supply of ingredients. 

This dish was made from organic pasta, canned tuna, tomato and capers which are donated food items from The Food Bank Singapore. Yes, under the magical fingers of the chef, canned food can be made gourmet with some spices, herbs and sauces. 

Honestly-speaking, I’m not really a fan of tuna but this dish is wholesome as it has a good amount of carbs, protein and fibre. Chilled Rice Pudding with Caramelised Pineapple

The chilled rice pudding did made my eyes go wide. It’s a pleasant healthy dessert which I wouldn’t mind having it for breakfast either. It made use of rice, milk, milk powder and canned pineapples from FBSG. Topped with some toasted almond and coconut flakes and voilà! Sometimes you just have got to be creative. 

If you happen to have some leftover milk and rice, why not make a rice pudding out of it? I would recommend adding some crushed biscuits or granola for more texture to the dish. 

Milo Granola Bar

The chef uses oats, Milo, Coffee, chia seeds, quinoa and soda biscuits obtained from the Food Bank Singapore to create this local-inspired granola bar. Wait a minute, why didn’t Nestle came up with a Milo Granola bar in the first place?

Who needs real chocolate when you have Milo powder in Singapore? 

If you’re curious (like me) of how these dishes made from ugly food taste, do drop by Plentyfull to try out this special menu. 

The next big challenge for these restaurants is to really whip a nutritious meal with ingredients obtained solely from the food bank. Now, that would be exciting. 

Do Your Part

As part of the effort to reduce food wastage, a FBSG Bank Box will be placed at the restaurant to collect excess food. If there’s any excess dry food at home or in the office, you can bring it to Plentyfull and drop into FBSG Bank Box.