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The Glossary is where you will find explanations of terms and definitions of words and phrases.
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Glossary Terms and Definitions

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  • Abject poverty Abject, or extreme, poverty mainly refers to an income below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day.
  • B2B Model B2B (Business to Business) is where a business deals with another business rather than directly with a customer. Feeding Hong Kong operates on a B2B model because we are a charity that works with other charities, not with individuals
  • Best before Best before labels tell us when the food is at its freshest. After this date, it is still safe to eat but may not be at its best.  
  • Carbon neutrality Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal or by eliminating emissions from society.    
  • Charity partner This is a charity that Feeding Hong Kong supports with product donations (inclusive of food, personal and household care items). 
  • Climate change Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. The cause of current climate change is largely human activity, like burning fossil fuels, like natural gas, oil, and coal. Burning these materials releases what are called greenhouse gases into Earth's atmosphere.
  • Community partner An organisation that is helping us achieve our mission, including corporates, schools, universities, other nonprofit organisations, community groups and more. 
  • Conflict Conflict here generally refers to countries that are at war or undergoing internal struggles for power.
  • Crisis shelter Crisis shelters are places where people experiencing temporary or ongoing conditions of crisis are given accommodation and support. The aim is to remove them from an otherwise harmful environment and allow them to improve their situations in a safe and stable environment.
  • Deforestation The cutting down of trees in a large area, or the destruction of forests by people.    
  • Developed country A developed country—also called an industrialized country—has a mature and sophisticated economy, usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and/or average income per resident. Developed countries have advanced technological infrastructure and have diverse industrial and service sectors.
  • Developing country Developing countries are those that have a low gross domestic product (GDP) per person. They tend to rely on agriculture as their prime industry. They have not quite reached economic maturity, although there are a number of definitions for this term.
  • Donor Our individual donors and community partners who fund our activities and events.
  • Environmental impact This is the effect of human activity on the environment in the form of creating environmental imbalance. Some of the most common environmental impacts are: Air pollutionWater pollutionSoil pollution Waste pollution    
  • Family farming Family farming is a means of organising agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture production which is managed and operated by a family and predominantly reliant on family labour, both women's and men’s.    
  • Food bank A food bank is a nonprofit, charitable organisation that distributes food to those who struggle to get enough food to avoid hunger. Our model at Feeding Hong Kong serves charities that, in turn, serve people in need with the food we rescue and redistribute. 
  • Food donor Food donors include any company that donates surplus products, including food, personal care and household products. 
  • Food industry The companies that are involved in the production, storage, transportation and retail of food.    
  • Food insecurity A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.
  • Food loss Food that gets spilt, spoiled or otherwise lost, or loses quality and value during its process in the food supply chain before it reaches its final product stage. Food loss typically takes place at production, post-harvest, processing, and distribution stages in the food supply chain.
  • Food retailers  Food retailers are businesses that sell food.    
  • Food security Food security, as defined by the United Nations, is the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. 
  • Food supply chain The journey by which the food gets from farm to fork.
  • Food surplus Food that is still safe to eat, but has lost its commercial value during the normal course of business and would usually be thrown away. It is food that has sufficient remaining product life (having not reached its expiry date) to allow it to be donated and consumed, i.e. food that will still be safe to eat by the time it is received by the end consumer.
  • Food wastage Any food lost by deterioration or discard, thus the term “wastage” covers both food loss and food waste.
  • Food waste Food of good quality that is fit for consumption but which is left uneaten, unused, or discarded. Food waste typically (but not exclusively) takes place at retail and consumption stages in the food supply chain.
  • Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide and methane are two of the primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.    
  • Hunger Hunger is an uncomfortable or painful physical sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary energy.
  • Immigration  The process of people travelling to a new place to live, usually in large numbers.    
  • Incineration The process of burning something completely.    
  • Industrialised country An industrialised country, also called a developed country, has a mature and sophisticated economy, usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and/or average income per resident.    
  • Inequality An unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better opportunities than other people.    
  • Landfill A landfill is a place where waste is kept. Once the waste is crushed into very small pieces, it is buried, but without oxygen.
  • Malnutrition Malnutrition means "poor nutrition" which can be caused by undernutrition. Undernutrition occurs when not enough essential nutrients are consumed or when they are excreted more rapidly than they can be replaced. Overnutrition occurs in people who eat too much, eat the wrong things, don't exercise enough or take too many vitamins or other dietary replacements.
  • Meal Feeding Hong Kong calculates ”one meal” as 420 grams of food. This is based on the recommended portion size for a healthy, balanced meal for an adult in Hong Kong.
  • Municipal solid waste (MSW) MSW in Hong kong refers to domestic waste which comes from households and public areas, including waste collected from residential buildings, litter bins, streets, marine areas and country parks.    
  • Organic waste Organic waste is any material that is biodegradable and comes from either a plant or an animal. Biodegradable waste is organic material that can be broken into carbon dioxide, methane or simple organic molecules. Examples of organic waste include green waste, food waste, food-soiled paper and non-hazardous wood waste.    
  • People in need These are individuals of vulnerable communities, including but not limited to migrant workers, new arrivals and anyone living below a standard of living that is high enough to satisfy basic needs like food, water, housing, clothing and basic health care.
  • Poverty Poverty is the state of having little material possessions or income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic and political causes and effects.    
  • Poverty line The poverty line is the amount of money needed for a person to meet their basic needs. It is defined as the money value of the goods and services needed to provide basic welfare to an individual. In Hong Kong the poverty line per month by household size is HK$4,400 for single-person HK$9,500 for two-person and HK$20,800 for four-person.
  • Repurpose  To find a new use for something.    
  • Sustainable Development Goals The 17 interlinked Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. 
  • Stunting A child who is too short for their age as a result of chronic malnutrition.
  • Supply chain In its simplest form a supply chain is the activities required by the organisation to deliver goods or services to the consumer.
  • Ugly food Ugly food refers to fruit and vegetables that are thrown away every year because of their appearance. It is perfectly edible, nutritious food that will never reach grocery shelves because it is considered deformed and bad-looking.
  • Undernourished If someone is undernourished, they are weak and unhealthy because they have not been eating enough food or the right kind of food.
  • Use-by/Expiry Use-by or expiry labels tell us the date the food must be eaten by. After this date, even if it looks fine, food may be unsafe to eat as it may have developed harmful bacteria.