Pangan Kito: Whatever you believe, You can achieve !

"Whatever you believe, you can achieve" That's what my aunt Elsa and Fina said, they are my inspiration. Pangan Kito Community is the school of food waste in Sumatra. As a person who has experience in building a community, I’m going to share my short event in Palembang City, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Pangan Kito. The community known as Pangan Kito, or PK for short, is dedicated to reducing and resolving the issue of food waste in Sumatra, particularly in Palembang. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Report data, Indonesia has become the largest contributor of food waste in the last year of 2024, the total amount of food waste is 14.73 million tons per year.

Pangan Kito Team and FSC

In this article, I will tell my story about the food waste journey with my team; Uswah, Anjali, Nita and Ummi. This is the first time I should build my community outside Bandar Lampung. I actually live in Bandar Lampung, and this is my challenge, the expedition was unbelievable. Let me explain to all of you, my beloved readers!

I’m not really into that journey. I just want to be happy with something that makes my life full of happiness and joy. You know, some people may not like your life journey, but actually, they don’t know very much about your life so far. Alhamdulilah, I can handle all the stuff with my crazy team. It was a wonderful experience. For some people, it’s not, but for me, it’s so meaningful. Once again, something hard may suddenly test you.

Young people especially Gen-Z are indicated as contributors who always leave food at restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, etc. as we know that the impact resulting from food waste is not only from the environment but also the impact of the food crisis. The most concerning effect is brought on by the large number of food sources that are improperly produced and utilized. In addition, discarding food leftovers results in the waste of resources used for the manufacture of food. 

Society may still view food waste as unimportant. It is feasible, though, that piles of food waste could blow up at any time and bury the nearby residents if it is not treated seriously. Furthermore, this issue is a serious hazard. Avoiding food waste is one of our individual roles and responsibilities in preventing environmental harm. For the benefit of a safer planet and future generations, it is prudent, to choose and prepare food going forward to reduce food waste.

Back to the discussion, Pangan Kito has conducted one event called “Food Smart Campaign” or FSC, We educate people in this case the students from various universities in Palembang such as Universitas Sriwijaya, UIN Raden Fatah, Universitas Sridinanti, from the diverse major; Nutrition Major, Economy and Business Management, English Education, Accounting etc. Although, the audience did not really do much our talks were full of knowledge. It is so much fun because we can share our minds in the freedom situations. 

I still remember the name of the member; Ellan, the famous President of the students in Universitas Sridinanti, she was absolutely clever. She said “We can help Pangan Kito, just tell me if you need some help, we will arrange the seminar or something like that in my university”, you’re so kind, girl! May Allah protect you, Aaamiin.

With Tante Niken

The most interesting moment that I still remember is a short tour with Aunt Niken, she is so a kind-hearted person and her personality is superb, I like her so much, thank you Aunt Niken, May you always be happy in this world, Aamiin. We Went to Pasar 16 to buy Pempek and Kerupuk Palembang. 

I bought some souvenirs there, I love many foods of Palembang, it was very yummy. Everybody loves Pempek, we can say “Pempek is the food for all ages and people”. Writing English is highly challenging. You need to concentrate on getting new vocab, make it into sentences, and compose it in paragraphs.

Ok, well, thank you for reading my summary, see you next time! 

Your Love, Zara.