KUCHING, Oct 22: Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) is taking a different path to assist those who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic by handing out food aid in the form of plants in containers.
According to Aspirasi information chief Alex Leong Shaow Tung, Aspirasi also encourages the people to take up home gardening to secure their own supply of healthy food.
“Aspirasi’s food aid project has received a very warm response from members of the public where the people are encouraged to grown their own fruits and vegetables such as okra, chili, mulberry, tomatoes, spring onions and herbs in containers which can be anything from a flower pot, cans, plastic bags to old boots,” he said in a press statement today.
Food security, Leong noted, as defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, means that all people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for a healthy life.
Leong, who is a farmer himself, believes that in a public health crisis, food security to enhance fitness and a robust natural immunity system is needed to boost one’s natural immunity system which will enable the body to fight viruses and diseases.
He said limited land or cramped space is no excuse not to grow one’s own vegetables, as the urban gardening concept of container gardening is able to meet the growing demand for healthy and chemical-free foods that produces fruits and vegetables rich in nutrients.
He also pointed out that gardening also reduces carbon emissions and food waste which can be recycled as organic compost.
“Container gardening creates an optimal environment for the plants to thrive in without exposure to pesticides or any other environmental toxins,” he added. — DayakDaily
