DBS Foundation x NEA Hungry for Change Challenge returns with more partners joining the initiative; invites Singapore's youth to develop innovative solutions to food and packaging waste
Singapore.21 Aug 2023
Winning teams will each receive SGD 20,000 from DBS Foundation to pilot their solutions, mentorship from DBS, and consultations with NEA
McDonald’s, Koufu, and The Social Kitchen have come onboard; will work with winning teams to pilot their solutions
Winning teams will also gain access to potential business opportunities facilitated by Enterprise Singapore
Singapore, 21 Aug 2023 - DBS Foundation, in partnership with the National Environment Agency (NEA), today announced the launch of the second edition of the DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge (“the Challenge”). Open to students and recent alumni from Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), the Challenge invites them to create and innovate solutions to address Singapore’s food and packaging waste issues.
Minister Grace Fu, senior representatives from DBS, NEA and EnterpriseSG, and the inaugural batch of Hungry for Change Challenge winners.
In addition to food waste, which counts for 11% of total waste generated in the nation, the second edition of the Challenge also includes a set of problem statements centred on food-related packaging waste. From upstream packaging used to protect food during processing and transport, to downstream packaging driven by the growing takeaway and delivery culture among today’s consumers, packaging has emerged as an increasingly critical component in the food supply chain that needs to be addressed (see Appendix A for details on the problem statements).
For greater impact, DBS Foundation and NEA have partnered food and beverage (F&B) establishments McDonald’s, Koufu, and The Social Kitchen to develop expanded problem statements that reflect key challenges faced by the F&B industry today. These three companies will help to evaluate the participating entries and pilot the winning teams’ solutions with them.
In addition, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) has come onboard as the Challenge’s outreach partner. It will work closely with DBS Foundation and NEA to connect existing and future Challenge winners to their network of businesses in the food services industry to explore potential business synergies.
Ms Karen Ngui, Group Head of Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank and Board Member of DBS Foundation, said: “There is boundless energy, drive, and creativity in today's youth. Through the DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge, we hope to unleash a new generation of impact makers and catalyse the development and commercialisation of much needed solutions that will be able to address growing sustainability concerns in the areas of food and packaging waste."
Ms Angeline Chan, Director of Food Services, EnterpriseSG, said, “Sustainability is emerging as a rising global trend, and consumers have begun to place greater emphasis for sustainable products and services. To stay relevant, businesses have taken steps to incorporate sustainability practices in their operating models. We are pleased to work with DBS Foundation and NEA to support F&B companies in finding solutions that can support their efforts in this area, and look forward to more of such collaborations to drive sustainability in the F&B industry.”
The second edition of the Challenge was officially launched by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, at an event organised by DBS Foundation that showcased the inaugural batch of Challenge winners and served as a platform to spark new business opportunities. The five teams from the first edition, whose solutions focus on upcycling food waste into new food products or innovating technological solutions to prevent food waste, had each received grant funding from DBS Foundation to run a six-month pilot of their solutions, in addition to mentorship and consultation sessions with DBS and NEA respectively.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced the launch of 2023’s edition of the
DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge.
The inaugural batch of Challenge winners (from left to right: Mottainai Food Technology, ChangeX, Divert for 2nd Life, tHEMEat Company, the moonbeam.co) each received grant funding from DBS Foundation to run a six-month pilot of their solutions, in addition to mentorship and consultation sessions with DBS and NEA respectively.
Having recently concluded the pilots, the teams came together to present their solutions to an audience comprising businesses and associations from the food services industry who were exploring novel ways to integrate sustainability into their businesses.
To bring the winning teams’ solutions to life, event attendees were also treated to a variety of vegetarian dishes that incorporated some ingredients developed through their projects – such as ‘Butter Chicken Empanadas’ made with Jiro-meat, an okara-based alternative protein, and ‘Tex-Mex Chilli Bowls’ made from soy protein infused with VemeTM, which enhances the taste of plant-based proteins by extracting flavours from commonly discarded vegetables. The menu was specially created in partnership with Brewerkz, a recipient of the DBS Foundation Grant Award, which supports businesses for impact that are driving positive environmental and/or social impact through their work.
DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge
The Challenge is open to students and recent alumni of IHLs in Singapore. The five most innovative and impactful ideas will receive funding and support to pilot their solutions.
Information sessions will be held from 6.00pm to 7.30pm SGT on 12 and 13 September 2023 for interested students and recent alumni to learn more about the Challenge. Attendees will also get to hear directly from McDonald’s, Koufu, and The Social Kitchen on the food and packaging waste concerns they face and are looking to address.
For more details on the Challenge and information sessions, please visit: https://www.dbs.com/foundation/community-impact/dbsf-nea-hungry-for-change
APPENDIX A: DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge – 2023 Problem Statements
About DBS Foundation
The DBS Foundation is committed to uplifting lives and livelihoods by igniting change in businesses and communities.
Since 2014, the DBS Foundation has been championing social enterprises in Asia, businesses that are for profit, and impact. The Business for Impact chapter now catalyses the growth of innovative, purpose-driven businesses, including SMEs, designed to address pressing issues facing our planet and society.
In 2022, the DBS Foundation raised the bar with the formation of a new Community Impact chapter, to equip the underserved with digital and financial literacy skills to face the future with confidence, and enable communities to be more food secure and resilient.
Our vision is to spark collective action, together with our partners and DBS People of Purpose, to help build a better world for generations today and tomorrow.
For more information, please visit: www.dbs.com/dbsfoundation.
About the National Environment Agency
The National Environment Agency (NEA) is the leading public organisation responsible for ensuring a clean and sustainable environment for Singapore. Its key roles are to improve and sustain a clean environment, promote sustainability and resource efficiency, maintain high public health standards, provide timely and reliable meteorological information, and encourage a vibrant hawker culture. NEA works closely with its partners and the community to develop and spearhead environmental and public health initiatives and programmes. It is committed to motivating every individual to care for the environment as a way of life, in order to build a liveable and sustainable Singapore for present and future generations.
For more information, visit www.nea.gov.sg.
Minister Grace Fu, senior representatives from DBS, NEA and EnterpriseSG, and the inaugural batch of Hungry for Change Challenge winners.
In addition to food waste, which counts for 11% of total waste generated in the nation, the second edition of the Challenge also includes a set of problem statements centred on food-related packaging waste. From upstream packaging used to protect food during processing and transport, to downstream packaging driven by the growing takeaway and delivery culture among today’s consumers, packaging has emerged as an increasingly critical component in the food supply chain that needs to be addressed (see Appendix A for details on the problem statements).
For greater impact, DBS Foundation and NEA have partnered food and beverage (F&B) establishments McDonald’s, Koufu, and The Social Kitchen to develop expanded problem statements that reflect key challenges faced by the F&B industry today. These three companies will help to evaluate the participating entries and pilot the winning teams’ solutions with them.
In addition, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) has come onboard as the Challenge’s outreach partner. It will work closely with DBS Foundation and NEA to connect existing and future Challenge winners to their network of businesses in the food services industry to explore potential business synergies.
Ms Karen Ngui, Group Head of Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank and Board Member of DBS Foundation, said: “There is boundless energy, drive, and creativity in today's youth. Through the DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge, we hope to unleash a new generation of impact makers and catalyse the development and commercialisation of much needed solutions that will be able to address growing sustainability concerns in the areas of food and packaging waste."
Ms Angeline Chan, Director of Food Services, EnterpriseSG, said, “Sustainability is emerging as a rising global trend, and consumers have begun to place greater emphasis for sustainable products and services. To stay relevant, businesses have taken steps to incorporate sustainability practices in their operating models. We are pleased to work with DBS Foundation and NEA to support F&B companies in finding solutions that can support their efforts in this area, and look forward to more of such collaborations to drive sustainability in the F&B industry.”
The second edition of the Challenge was officially launched by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, at an event organised by DBS Foundation that showcased the inaugural batch of Challenge winners and served as a platform to spark new business opportunities. The five teams from the first edition, whose solutions focus on upcycling food waste into new food products or innovating technological solutions to prevent food waste, had each received grant funding from DBS Foundation to run a six-month pilot of their solutions, in addition to mentorship and consultation sessions with DBS and NEA respectively.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced the launch of 2023’s edition of the
DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge.
The inaugural batch of Challenge winners (from left to right: Mottainai Food Technology, ChangeX, Divert for 2nd Life, tHEMEat Company, the moonbeam.co) each received grant funding from DBS Foundation to run a six-month pilot of their solutions, in addition to mentorship and consultation sessions with DBS and NEA respectively.
To bring the winning teams’ solutions to life, event attendees were also treated to a variety of vegetarian dishes that incorporated some ingredients developed through their projects – such as ‘Butter Chicken Empanadas’ made with Jiro-meat, an okara-based alternative protein, and ‘Tex-Mex Chilli Bowls’ made from soy protein infused with VemeTM, which enhances the taste of plant-based proteins by extracting flavours from commonly discarded vegetables. The menu was specially created in partnership with Brewerkz, a recipient of the DBS Foundation Grant Award, which supports businesses for impact that are driving positive environmental and/or social impact through their work.
DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge
The Challenge is open to students and recent alumni of IHLs in Singapore. The five most innovative and impactful ideas will receive funding and support to pilot their solutions.
- Winners of the challenge stand to receive:
- Funding support of up to SGD 20,000 from DBS Foundation
- Mentorship from DBS
- Project consultations with NEA
- Access to potential collaboration opportunities facilitated by EnterpriseSG
- The most promising solution(s) at the end of the pilot period stands to receive additional funding of up to SGD 25,000.
- Submissions are now open and will close on 31 October 2023. The winners will be announced by February 2024.
Information sessions will be held from 6.00pm to 7.30pm SGT on 12 and 13 September 2023 for interested students and recent alumni to learn more about the Challenge. Attendees will also get to hear directly from McDonald’s, Koufu, and The Social Kitchen on the food and packaging waste concerns they face and are looking to address.
For more details on the Challenge and information sessions, please visit: https://www.dbs.com/foundation/community-impact/dbsf-nea-hungry-for-change
APPENDIX A: DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge – 2023 Problem Statements
| # | Problem statements |
| 1 | Give food waste a second life Majority of food waste in Singapore is incinerated when it could have been recovered for other uses such as upcycling to food, animal feed or non-food products. How can we reduce food waste by converting it into other useful forms? |
| 2 | Segregate food waste effectively By segregating food waste from other types of waste, we can minimise contamination from other non-food substances. How can we properly segregate food waste so that it remains suitable for recycling and upcycling? |
| 3 | Reduce food waste from farm to table Opportunities to reduce food waste exist at every step along the supply chain from farm to table. What are some innovative ways to do this? |
| 4 | Develop innovative food packaging solutions Packaging is a critical component to protect and extend the shelf-life of food during processing, transport and retail. How can we design packaging to be multi-functional and up-cyclable to ensure circularity? |
| 5 | Minimise the use of food packaging Packaging is necessary as it holds and protects our food. However, it forms a considerable proportion of total waste adding strain to our waste management systems. How can we reduce the use of food packaging? |
[END]
About DBS Foundation
The DBS Foundation is committed to uplifting lives and livelihoods by igniting change in businesses and communities.
Since 2014, the DBS Foundation has been championing social enterprises in Asia, businesses that are for profit, and impact. The Business for Impact chapter now catalyses the growth of innovative, purpose-driven businesses, including SMEs, designed to address pressing issues facing our planet and society.
In 2022, the DBS Foundation raised the bar with the formation of a new Community Impact chapter, to equip the underserved with digital and financial literacy skills to face the future with confidence, and enable communities to be more food secure and resilient.
Our vision is to spark collective action, together with our partners and DBS People of Purpose, to help build a better world for generations today and tomorrow.
For more information, please visit: www.dbs.com/dbsfoundation.
About the National Environment Agency
The National Environment Agency (NEA) is the leading public organisation responsible for ensuring a clean and sustainable environment for Singapore. Its key roles are to improve and sustain a clean environment, promote sustainability and resource efficiency, maintain high public health standards, provide timely and reliable meteorological information, and encourage a vibrant hawker culture. NEA works closely with its partners and the community to develop and spearhead environmental and public health initiatives and programmes. It is committed to motivating every individual to care for the environment as a way of life, in order to build a liveable and sustainable Singapore for present and future generations.
For more information, visit www.nea.gov.sg.