Scholars of Sustenance Successfully Held Annual Charity Run Million Meals March 2023 for a Noble Cause

TABANAN, NusaBali.com - Scholars of Sustenance Indonesia successfully held an annual running or walking event while raising funds―the Million Meals March 2023. There were two tracks that can be chosen for participants: 15km for competitive runners and morning exercise, and 5km for a relaxing walk while enjoying the natural beauty of Tabanan, perfect for walking with family and pets.

Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Indonesia is a non-profit focused on tackling the global issue of food waste. The South-East Asia’s largest food rescue organization has been saving surplus food from partners, preventing it from being wasted in the landfill, and distributing it to the vulnerable community instead. By the end of 2022, SOS Global has managed to provide 25 million meals. The achievement of such a milestone triggers SOS to reach and give 50 million meals in Indonesia, Thailand, and The Philippines in 2025.

In order to achieve the target, SOS was again hosting the Million Meals March on Sunday, 5 March 2023, following the previous events in 2021 and 2022. The aim of this charity run remains the same--to help Bali recover faster from COVID-19 and to provide more food for people across Bali and other parts of Indonesia.

MMM 2023 started at 6 AM, where all participants were gathering at the Puri Anyar (the Royal Palace) of Kerambitan to re-register, and enjoy breakfast while listening to the warm opening by Anak Agung B. Erawan—King of Royal Palace of Kerambitan. He was excited to be there and support an event for a noble cause.

“We are from the Puri Anyar Kerambitan family very happy to welcome all of you, thank you for visiting here, you can also get to know the history of Puri and Balinese culture,” King Erawan said.

The speech was also followed by Bo H. Holmgreen, the Founder and CEO of Scholars of Sustenance Global, and Ratna Soebarata as General Manager, thanking the crew, participants, and everyone involved in the third charity run held by the organization.

“Thank you to everyone who join MMM, I would also send gratitude to all crews that have worked hard so far, the generous sponsors and partners, hopefully, we can help more people in Bali through this event,” Holmgreen stated.

“It’s such our pleasure to welcome all generous participants here, all the money raised in MMM will be used to help SOS in distributing nutritious food to the vulnerable community,” Ratna delivered the welcoming speech.

The 15k runners started shortly after the photo session, while the 5k marchers got the chance to go around the castle led by the Puri. After the tour was finished, they got transported to the starting line and the race began.

As promised, the participants went through a track full of Tabanan’s natural exotic, scenic beauty. They marched through the villages, down to the dense jungles, across the Yeh Ho river, and the cascading rice fields, and ended the competition at the Beraban beach. The 15kers were competitive but supportive of each other, while the 5kers enjoyed the track with friends, family, dogs, and puppies.

After arriving at the finish line, the runners got a medal and enjoyed the food and some snacks provided by SOS. There was also a raffle, lucky dips, and some silent auctions to win various vouchers with the highest value of IDR 12 million.

MMM 2023 finally announced the most fundraised participants who achieved and exceeded the charity target. Kevin Girard as the General Manager of Conrad Bali came in the first place, followed by Ali Sadar and Annabel Khalil.

The race turned out to be so competitive, resulting in the fastest at 5 km and 15 km as the winners. Heidi Blaire, Ryan, and Wayan Supiana became the fastest runner on the longest route, while Sanjay Dewan, Katt Lee, and Alma A, finished the fastest at 5 km.

“It was really fun to run for 5k, even though it was a very sunny day. Especially when I remember that I join this march to help people in need.” Sanjay Dewan, the first winner of 5k, stated. He looked happy when accepting the prize.

Heidi Blaire came back first before all of the runners, making her the first winner of the 15k. “I kept running, running, and running until I finally reached the finish line. It was so tiring, but knowing what I’m doing will cause many good things, this really excites me.” She added.

The event might have ended, but the mother campaign is still running and open for donation until the end of March. Those who want to donate can go to give.asia/mmm2023. SOS also accepts for generous people to donate monthly through the website sosindonesia.give.asia.

All the funds raised will be used to help Scholars of Sustenance Indonesia provide and distribute nutritious food to vulnerable communities in Bali. Such initiative is based on the SOS mission to fight against hunger and at the same time to reduce the effect of climate change that has been generated from the surplus food and waste food in the landfill.