The founder of Malaysia’s first sustainable food bank The Lost Food Project, Suzanne Mooney has been passionate about the issue of food waste since she was a waitress in a restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa. When she and her family re-located to Malaysia in 2015, she initiated the movement to rescue good, nutritious food that was destined for the landfill to be re-distributed, along with donating other essential items to the needy.

Since its inception, TLFP has rescued and re-distributed over 8 million meals and prevented more than 6.5 million kg of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2019, TLFP was appointed as a strategic partner of Yayasan Food Bank, Malaysia’s first national government-led food bank. Mooney was also instrumental in the Food Donors Protection Bill, the first ever food-waste law in the country that was approved by Dewan Rakyat.

TLFP has been recognised with numerous awards, including the 2018 JCI Sustainable Development Award for UN Sustainable Development Goal #2 (Zero Hunger), and the Best Social Impact SME Award at the Europa Awards for Sustainability in 2019. Mooney is also a recipient of the Merdeka Award in 2020 for her outstanding contributions to the people of Malaysia.

While Mooney is now based in London and Geneva, Switzerland, she is still very much involved in the daily operations of TLFP.