Food Bank Singapore joins MBS, Las Vegas Sands programme to enhance community impact
It aims to expand its Bank Card Programme, which simplifies the food distribution process
MARINA Bay Sands (MBS) and Las Vegas Sands announced on Wednesday (Mar 5) that non-profit organisation Food Bank Singapore joined the Sands Cares Accelerator programme, which helps non-profits enhance community impact.
Under Food Bank’s three-year membership in the programme, it will receive US$100,000 annually as well as structured guidance and mentorship from Sands and MBS.
The non-profit will focus on expanding its Bank Card Programme, which simplifies the food distribution process to better serve its beneficiaries.
Currently, beneficiaries use a physical card to receive food aid from more than 300 partners through pre-loaded smart wallets with monthly virtual credits. Each card has 100 such credits. Distribution partners must manually issue and track these cards, which entail associated costs for maintaining them.
By participating in Sands Cares Accelerator, Food Bank aims to digitalise these processes to improve operational and cost efficiency. It also hopes to increase outreach to more beneficiaries – particularly youths in tertiary institutions.
Dr Arthur Chin, executive director at Food Bank, said: “Joining the Sands Cares Accelerator will enable us to substantially scale an effective way to serve vulnerable members of our community, while emphasising the importance of nutrition.”
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Food Bank is the seventh organisation to join the Sands Cares Accelerator programme. The non-profit acquires donated food from wholesalers and distributors, supermarkets and retail outlets, and individual donors via food drives. The food is redistributed to beneficiaries from family centres, residential care homes and welfare organisations. It redistributes more than two million meals every year.
Food Bank has partnered MBS since 2016, with the resort providing ongoing donations in the form of unserved banquet food from the Marina Bay Sands & Convention Centre. MBS employees also regularly volunteer at Food Bank’s warehouse, sorting food donations and taking inventory.
Sands Cares Accelerator was launched in 2017. During the three-year membership of the programme, Sands and its resorts form longer-term relationships with the non-profits and provide extended funding, structured guidance and customised support. A non-profit can focus on a strategic area or programme offering during that time.
Ron Reese, senior vice-president of global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands, said: “With more than US$1.6 million invested, hundreds of hours in facilitation and consulting, and five successful graduates, the Sands Cares Accelerator has become one of our most impactful programmes.”
This announcement follows the completion of MBS’ fourth annual Sands Cares Global Food Kit Build with Food Bank on Tuesday. About 300 MBS staff, retail tenants and Sands Hospitality Scholarship recipients helped to assemble 6,000 kits to be distributed, which included biscuits, rice and canned food.
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