Have you ever wondered how 3 meals a day became a rule?

In fact, there is no marked difference in overall calorie count whether a person eats three large meals or six smaller meals (British journal, 2010). It takes on average 24 to at most 72 hours to digest a single meal depending on the amount and type of food eaten (The Moguldom Nation). This eating pattern stemmed from European settlers – who deemed that civilized people eat properly and bound their eating – then grew into the normal routine around the world (Three squares: The invention of the American Meal).

Conforming to rigid eating patterns should never be a problem for most people. You retrieve something from the fridge, take a stop at the restaurant/convenience store, order food via delivery service, or just cook when you get hungry. Filling an empty stomach is easy. Overeating is even more common, sometimes.

Still, on the other side of the story, about 815 million people, or 10.7%, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2016. And nearly half a billion people in Asia are undernourished (FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2017). The threshold for food deprivation is fewer than 1,800 calories per day, but undernourishment surpasses the calorie count to deficiencies in energy, protein, and/or essential vitamins and minerals (UN’s Hunger Report).

Trying to find food to serve neighbors facing hunger, John van Hengel, a retired businessman established the first food bank in the late 1960s. Foodbank is usually a non-profit organization that collects donated food and distributes it to people in need. According to Warshawsky's report, food banks now exist in 80 countries worldwide, including several countries in Asia (New internationalist).

At Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Foundation Thailand, we aim to rescue surplus food from hotels and retailers, avoiding food waste going to the landfill to emit toxic methane gasses. Our mission is to make a difference by rescuing good-quality surplus food and serving nutritious food to those who need it the most.

Writer: Ms. Panicha Opastirakul

Editor: Ms. Nantaporn Thirapongphaiboon

Banner Creator: Mr. Supachai Mongkolnit

Reference:

1. “Food bank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster

2. The Moguldom Nation.2021.Fact Check: It Takes 24 Hours To Digest A Single Meal, 3 Meals A Day Is A European Thing

3. DailyMail.2015.Why we SHOULDN'T eat three meals a day

4. World Hunger.2018.WORLD HUNGER AND POVERTY FACTS AND STATISTICS

5. Eco-Business.2019.Nearly half a billion people in Asia undernourished: UN

6. ACTION AGAINST HUNGER.2022.WORLD HUNGER: KEY FACTS AND STATISTICS 2022

7. New Internationalist.2020.HOW FOODBANKS WENT GLOBAL