KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- AmMetLife Insurance Berhad (AmMetLife) and the MetLife Foundation are working with the Food Aid Foundation to provide food supplies for the B40 families who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Food Aid Foundation works with charities in Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan and Sarawak through its “Food Bags for the Needy” programme which reaches people from rural areas, charity homes and refugees. Employees from AmMetLife and other MetLife entities will volunteer their time with the Food Aid Foundation in helping with the food preparation and distribution.

As with every nation, Malaysia has had to respond to the challenges brought about by COVID-19. A large number of B40 families across Malaysia are under severe financial stress and many are unable to afford basic food staples. 

Commenting on the support being provided by the MetLife Foundation, AmMetLife CEO Ramzi Toubassy said: “COVID-19 has created enormous challenges for the underserved community in Malaysia. Having access to basic food is vital for them to be able to maintain their health and wellbeing. We are happy to support the Food Aid Foundation, via the MetLife Foundation, in their mission to tackle hunger in Malaysia. Our support will help over 12,000 people get access to the food they need.”

Data from the Food Aid Foundation shows that Malaysians produce 15,000 tons of food waste each day, around 3,000 tons of which is avoidable. The Food Aid Foundation secures Halal-certified, surplus food from manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers. The Food Aid Foundation then works with local charity partners to distribute food to those who need it the most.

In thanking MetLife Foundation for the contribution, Founder of Food Aid Foundation, Rick Chee said: “At this unprecedented time, we are facing a global recession that has literally brought the world to a standstill.  The underprivileged community has been severely affected by this situation.  With the support of MetLife Foundation, we hope to help them ease their burden during this challenging period.”

AmMetLife continues to support its customers and the communities it operates in during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more details about our support for customers, please visit www.ammetlife.com

About AmMetLife

AmMetLife is a strategic partnership between AMMB Holdings Berhad (AmBank Group) and MetLife International Holdings LLC (MetLife). AmMetLife offers a comprehensive range of life assurance and wealth protection solutions distributed through a combination of over 200 AmBank and AmMetLife branded branch offices, in addition to the strength of its authorised life insurance agents nationwide.

The strategic partnership combines the international expertise and financial strength of MetLife with the local strength and reach of AmBank Group to create a customer-centric and modern life assurance solutions provider in Malaysia.

About MetLife Foundation

At MetLife Foundation, we believe financial health belongs to everyone. We bring together bold solutions, deep financial expertise and meaningful grants to build financial health for people and communities that are underserved and aspire for more. We partner with organizations around the world to create financial health solutions and build stronger communities, engaging MetLife employee volunteers to help drive impact. MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 to continue MetLife’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Since its founding through the end of 2019, MetLife Foundation provided more than $860 million in grants and $85 million in program-related investments to make a positive impact in the communities where MetLife operates. To date, our financial health work has reached 9.9 million low-income individuals in 42 countries. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.

About Food Aid Malaysia

Food Aid Foundation is the first organization Malaysia to rescue perishable and non-perishable excess food. Established in 2013, our mission is to reduced food wastage and alleviate hunger and malnourishment in Malaysia.

We collect and distribute surplus food on a daily basis to our beneficiaries consisting of welfare and charitable homes, shelters, poor families, destitute, other NGO’s, refugee communities and soup kitchen.

While the statistics of edible food being send to landfill stands at 3,000 tons daily, we face issues of malnourishment and lack of nutritious food among those living in poverty.

We made a link of helping to reduce food waste and helping people in need with food donations in many ways:

· Nutritious food for charities where nutritious food can be channeled to charity and people in need.

· Savings for charities save on grocery bills for charity organization and poor family so the funds can be redirected to education, medical, rehabilitation, utilities and other expenses.

· CSR for food donors by increasing positive impact on community engagement with the local community by donating excess food and helping to alleviate hunger.

· Protecting the environment by ensuring good food be donated rather than going to landfill and helps reduce the negative impact of food waste on the environment.

SOURCE: AmBank Group

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Corporate Communications Department
Email: AmMetLife-Communicator@ammmetlife.com

--BERNAMA