Walking for rice to combat food insecurity in Singapore

What’s the issue?

Alarming statistics from a study published by Food From the Heart in 2020 found that 10.4% of households in Singapore experienced food insecurity at least once in a year, with two out of five facing this challenge on a monthly basis. Food insecurity can lead to malnutrition, which directly impacts both the physical and mental wellbeing of those affected.

How are we addressing it?

To help fight food insecurity and support families in need, our teams in Singapore joined the ‘Walk for Rice’ event in June 2023, a meaningful initiative aimed at tackling the often-overlooked issue of hunger in the community.

The teams collectively pledged to donate one kilogram of rice for every kilometer walked by Forvis Mazars colleagues during the event, which resulted in a donation of 1,055kg of rice to ‘Willing Hearts’ by the end of the day, a local organisation that runs a soup kitchen which distributes thousands of meals daily across Singapore.

In addition, colleagues supported Chateaux, a kombucha company and fellow participant of Walk for Rice that donated 10% of the proceeds of their sales from the event to Dementia Singapore, an organisation specialised in dementia care, caregiver support, training, consultancy and advocacy.

What’s the lasting impact?

This event aims to empower our employees to actively contribute to the noble cause of eradicating hunger, a cause that Forvis Mazars in Singapore has been steadfastly supporting since 2018 through a number of local events and initiatives. We hope that with each act of service we can continue to improve the lives of people in our community and reduce food insecurity.

Commenting on the event, Iris Goh, Director, Talent at Forvis Mazars in Singapore, said:

 “Every June, we strive to invigorate and engage our employees in our month-long ‘Wellness Series’. This year, we take this as an opportunity to extend our quest of seeking ‘wellness’ and ‘wellbeing’ beyond just our own colleagues, reaching out to those in need in our community. We embarked on this journey to Walk for Rice to not only strengthen the bonds among team members, but also contribute to the nourishment of the Willing Hearts beneficiaries, who face the challenges of food insecurity. This event reaffirms our belief that we are a firm with purpose.”