What is it?
YSEALI Seeds for the Future is a small grants competition for young leaders in Southeast Asia. The competition provides funding for the region’s most promising young leaders to carry out projects that improve their communities, countries and the region. Projects cover one of the four YSEALI themes:
- Civic Engagement
- Economic Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship
- Education
- Environmental Issues
2022 YSEALI Seeds for the Future – Projects of the Month
Cà Mèn Project
To reduce the amount of food waste in major urban cities of Vietnam, Cà Mèn Project serves as a mediator which connects restaurants and stores that have unsold food surplus and people in need under the form of last-minute deals.
The story began with former Vietnamese students studying in Europe – some had part-time jobs in restaurants and saw food thrown away at the end of the day, while others used mobile apps to look for food deals to save money. Working in different sectors and living in different cities, the team shared concerns about economic, environmental, and social angles of the food waste issue. That is how the Cà Mèn Project was formed to tackle the food waste situation in Vietnam.
By making it easily accessible for all social actors, this project also aims to increase public awareness about food waste prevention and tackle malnutrition within vulnerable groups in the post-COVID period.