Community Investment, Asia, Second Harvest Japan
Established in 2004, Second Harvest is the first and largest food bank in Japan. The non-profit organisation operates food collection and distribution activities throughout Japan in order to provide nutritious meals to those below the poverty line, such as at soup kitchens, orphanages, elderly homes, emergency and homeless shelters and many others. Food banking is relatively new to Japan, and it is surprising that more than 6,000 metric tons of food is sent to waste every day in Tokyo alone. Second Harvest Japan's philosophy is not to pay for “new food” because there is already an ample amount of excess food for the organisation to draw from. The Tokyo office has supported Second Harvest Japan for the past three years, helping to fund the cost of the food collection and distribution, as well as sending small groups of volunteers from the Tokyo office to assist at Second Harvest's weekly soup kitchen for the homeless in Ueno Park, one of the largest public parks in the city.
