Standing up to COVID-19 in Bangladesh with Cartons for Good
The Cartons for Good initiative, flagship project of the SIG WAY BEYOND GOOD Foundation, extended its support to communities during the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown in Bangladesh. Aid packages containing basic foodstuffs and hygiene items have been distributed to families in need.
20%
Nearly 20% of the population in Bangladesh are malnourished and almost half the children are underweight.
From Waste to Worth
Cartons for Good offers innovative solutions against food loss and malnutrition. In Bangladesh, where the foundation is running the project, surplus food is preserved in SIG packages for schools to offer underprivileged children regular lunches throughout the year. This means that they can come to school instead of having to work for their food.
HOW IT WORKS
Helping farmers
Farmers are paid for their surplus vegetables. This gives them extra income from crops they wouldn’t otherwise be able to sell.
Communities use SIG packaging
Communities use the mobile filling unit to cook the vegetables and preserve them in SIG’s long-life carton packages.
Local schools help to distribute the packs
The food is distributed to local schools. Children get a healthy, hot meal every day. This encourages them to stay in school and gives them better prospects for the future.
Packaging is collected for recycling
After use, the packs are collected for recycling at a local facility, so the materials can be used again.
The issue of food loss
Although nearly 20% of the population are malnourished and almost half the children are underweight, large quantities of food go to waste every day in Bangladesh. Each year at harvest-time, farmers produce more food than they can sell and, with no way to preserve the surplus crops, the food rots and is thrown away.
“There used to be wastage of surplus crops from our farming land, but this will now be put to use with Cartons for Good. We can use the extra money from selling the surplus for next year’s farming and the SIG WAY BEYOND GOOD FOUNDATION is taking care of children by giving them school meals.”
Samsul Alam
Farmers’ Community Representative
Challenges to schooling in Bangladesh
Children living in Bangladeshi urban slums face many barriers when it comes to going to and staying in school – in fact, only half of the children living in these areas end up attending school. Aspects like low family income and high population density amplify the problem. Often, in order to ensure the family has something to eat, children have to drop out of school to contribute as manual labourers. This deprives the country of needed talent as well as thousands of children of their hopes and dreams.
>1,000
aid packages
have been given to underprivileged families where the adults had no income due to the lockdown.
SIG Foundation: #cartons for good project in Bangladesh
The SIG WAY BEYOND GOOD FOUNDATION has launched its flagship Cartons for Good project in Bangladesh. Cartons for Good applies SIG’s technology to empower communities to reduce food loss, support farmers’ livelihoods and promote children’s nutrition and education.
The project provides healthy school meals for underprivileged children in partnership with leading development NGO, BRAC.
Extended support during crisis
During the COVID-19 lockdown, when schools were closed, it became more important than ever for children as well as their families to keep receiving healthy, nutritious food. That is why the Cartons for Good team in Bangladesh has delivered essential food and hygiene parcels to school children and their families at a time when they need it most.
Rice, potatoes, onions, lentils, spices, eggs, soya bean oil, mustard oil, salt, bars of soap and antiseptic soap were included in the aid packages – alongside the Cartons for Good packages produced from surplus vegetables which otherwise would have been wasted.
“The packages help me much to survive nowadays. As I am so much in need, it is so helpful to me.”
Hazera (35)
mother of two girls