Thai Union and Scholars of Sustenance Foundation host the School of Sustenance Program to educate students about Food Waste and Nutrition

SAMUT SAKHON, 16 January 2023 ─ Thai Union Group PCL collaborated with the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation (SOS) to raise awareness about food waste and nutrition through the School of Sustenance Program at six local schools in Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram province.

The School of Sustenance Program provided students and teachers with strategies on how to manage the issue of food waste, such as through composting, while also ensuring they understand what food surplus is, and how its reduction can support in providing food security, as well as, how it contributes to climate change. The program also provided valuable information about food nutrition and how to maintain a heathy diet.

Students also learned how to read and understand nutrition labels on food packaging including energy value, sugar, fat and sodium content so they could make informed choices when shopping for food.

More than 180 students from Wat Srisudtharam School, Wat Ang Thong School, Kusolwittaya School, Wat Yaichomprasat School, Ban Rongkhe School and Wat Khoyisan School have participated in the program since it was introduced in September 2022, as part of Thai Union’s efforts to promote “Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans”.

“This project aims to teach children about healthy eating habits and how to apply them in their daily lives. The goal is to give children the skills to make healthy food choices that are good for their bodies, based on the principles of nutrition, and to appreciate the value of food, both for themselves and for the environment. The project also aims to help children understand the impact of food waste and surplus food on the environment and to recognize that everyone can play a role in helping to protect the environment. This is a good project model. We want the concept of food management to be part of the education curriculum for schools and we also want everyone to be a contributor for driving zero food waste and zero hunger in society together,” said Sasiwan Jaiarsa, Senior Community Coordinator at Scholars of Sustenance Foundation.

Mr.Adam Brennan, Group Director of Sustainability at Thai Union, said "Food waste is a global challenge and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Everyone can be part of the solution to reduce and prevent food waste by making small changes in their daily lives such as only cooking as much food as you can eat and only buying the food you really need. Through the School of Sustenance Program, we’re providing students with a greater understanding about food waste management so the next generation is more conscious about how their actions can make a big difference in protecting the environment.”

Thai Union has set its own ambitious goals on the issue of food waste. The Company introduced its Commitment on Food Loss and Food Waste Reduction in 2021, with a target of reducing food loss in its own ambient, frozen and chilled seafood operations by 50 percent by 2025, compared to a 2021 baseline. Thai Union is also committed to working with its customers and partners to further reduce food waste at the retail and consumer level.

According to the research from the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation, Thailand generates 9.68 million tons of food waste per year, accounting for 38% of all waste. Of this amount, 39% is still edible food that has been thrown away. They have recommended three simple steps that everyone can follow to reduce food waste in the kitchen and protect the environment:

• Check your refrigerator to know what food is close to its expiry date.
• If you find food that is almost expired, try to consume it before your other food.
• If you can't finish the food you have, you can also donate it to Scholars of Sustenance Foundation through the following link: https://goo.gl/maps/YNPiXBXMrFZaUzwRA

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About Thai Union

Thai Union Group PCL is the world's seafood leader, bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for 45 years.

Today, Thai Union is regarded as one of the world's leading seafood producers and is one of the largest producers of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 141.0 billion (US$ 4.5 billion) and a global workforce of more than 44,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.

The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, Hawesta, and Rügen Fisch, Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, OMG Meat, Bellotta and Marvo, and ingredient and supplement brands UniQ®BONE, UniQ®DHA and ZEAvita.

As a company committed to “Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans,” Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a founding participating company of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), and current Chair of Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS). Thai Union's on-going work through its SeaChange® sustainability strategy was recognized when the company was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the nineth consecutive year in 2022. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the sixth straight year in 2021. Find out more about our work at seachangesustainability.org and thaiunion.com