Companionship is most precious during the time of pandemic, as it provides a sense of normality.

Astor Wong, Head of Partnership and Resources Development of Food Angel (left); and Ah Hung, beneficiary and Food Angel ambassador (right).
Multiple help from the first to the fifth wave of COVID

Six years ago, Ah Hung moved from mainland China to Hong Kong with her son and daughter. Her husband’s limited income was the sole source for their everyday expenses. The family enjoyed some long-awaited improvements when they relocated from a subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po to interim housing, but the pandemic soon upended their lives into a desperate struggle. 

“The physical and mental stress during the pandemic was immense, causing many sleepless nights. I needed help.” Ah Hung recalled. Financial stress also forced her to turn down friends’ invitations to gatherings, simply because she could not afford them. “After a few times, they just didn’t ask as much, making me feel even more lonely and vulnerable.” Fortunately, the mother of one of her daughter’s classmates introduced her to Food Angel, where she had access to food to support her family’s basic needs. Ah Hung even joined Food Angel’s volunteer team, demonstrating how community support and a simple act can lead to both self and mutual help. 

Since its establishment in 2011, Food Angel has partnered with Maxim’s Group in its mission of reducing food waste and providing food assistance. Astor Wong, Head of Partnership and Resources Development at Food Angel, described Maxim’s instrumental role in their growth, “Back when the first wave hit in 2020, we received a call from Maxim’s, asking if there was anything we needed. Right away, they donated 100,000 masks and 65,000 set meal coupons (valued at over HK$3 million) for distribution to the elderly and underprivileged students.”  

When the fifth wave brought a surge in COVID-19 cases as well as the number of recently-unemployed help seekers, Food Angel was unable to meet the sudden demand for hot meals. Once again, Maxim’s donated an additional HK$1 million in food coupons. “These meal coupons were a timely rescue to our imminent need,” said Wong.

The Jade Club, NAAC and Maxim’s Group co-founded the “Virtual Yum Cha” to recreate the teahouse experience for the elderly.
An online cantonese teahouse

Meanwhile, the pandemic also restricted outing opportunities for many elderly citizens. To address their needs, Maxim’s Group, The Jade Club and The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council (NAAC) came together for the “Virtual Yum Cha” campaign, recreating the familiar Maxim’s Palace at three NAAC daycare centres. Staff members at the centres were transformed into dim sum masters and servers, pushing the familiar dim sum carts, serving nostalgic and heartwarming dim sums and teas, and putting smiles on the faces of those who missed the days of frequenting teahouses. Due to the pandemic, volunteers could not visit daycare centres as they normally would, but they danced and played games with the elderly via streaming calls, giving care despite the restrictions of social distancing.

Life is full of uncertainty during the pandemic; but those who look to help, will always find ways to provide it.



Food Angel organised the first “World Food Rescue Week 2024,” bringing to the city a series of food-saving activities. As a close collaborator of the NGO, Maxim’s Group fully supported “World Food Rescue Week 2024” by calling on the community to save surplus food, thereby minimizing waste and collecting food for those in need. Through a city-wide network of food donation points, this initiative successfully gathered 53 tonnes of food, helping Food Angel to prepare over 240,000 loving meals and food packs, extending care to the elderly and families in need and e promoting the habit of food donation among the public. 

Embarking on a Food Rescue Journey in the Metaverse

To promote food-saving education, Food Angel became the first charitable organization in Hong Kong to establish a presence in The Sandbox metaverse by integrating the principles and knowledge of food rescue into online missions. Players can experience the daily operations of Food Angel through various mini games, from collecting food, processing ingredient and meal distribution, providing a refreshing and innovative gaming experience. Maxim’s also incorporated various activities themed caring, waste reduction, and food saving into the “Food Angel Food Rescue World" metaverse, enabling the public to learn while having fun.

In support of "World Food Rescue Week", Maxim's Cakes and arome Bakery, both under Maxim’s, launched special offers. Players who complete game missions in the metaverse and register as new members on the Eatizen mobile app can enjoy exclusive food discounts. This incentive aims to motivate more players to actively participate in activities and further promote the concept of food saving among the public. 

Additionally, to facilitate active participation in food donation efforts, Food Angel set up over 200 limited-time pop-up donation points and mobile donation vehicles across various districts in Hong Kong during the event. Ms. Lee, a citizen who donated surplus food to a mobile donation vehicle, shared: “I often have a lot of snacks at home that end up expiring and have to be thrown away, which is very wasteful. But now I can donate these extra snacks to those in need, not only reducing waste but also bringing joy to others – it’s a win-win.”

Continuing to Spread Warmth

As part of the long term collaboration with Food Angel, Maxim’s has consistently donated various festive foods such as Chinese preserved sausages, mooncakes, rice dumplings, and surplus bread to Food Angel, spreading warmth to those in need. Maxim’s will continue to actively support the caring initiatives of various charitable organizations, fulfilling its mission of connecting communities with great food.



Just as every warm spring comes with a gentle breeze, Maxim's Group initiated the "WeGen Neighbourhood" campaign to invite around 300 Care Ambassadors, dedicating a total of over 600 voluntary hours and benefiting more than 6,000 beneficiaries, to spread love and care throughout the community.

Enriching Lives with Nutritious Cooking, Spreading Warmth to the Elderly

In collaboration with Food Grace, Maxim's organized the "WeGen Care Soup Sharing and Home Visits" at which Care Ambassadors took the lead as nutritionists and chefs to prepare wholesome and low-carbon nutritious soup. This delightful soup was crafted using beetroot cultivated by a local farm through WeGen farming, and surplus ingredients collected from the wet market. By incorporating WeGen crops with zero pesticides and zero chemical fertilizers, this event shared the nutrition and taste of nature to the community.

In addition, Maxim’s donated 500 boxes of MX Preserved Sausage Giftbox, together with care soups, daily necessities, and heartwarming hand-drawn cards by volunteers. These Goodie bags were delivered to singleton elderly living in the Kwai Tsing district, sharing the fruits of “WeGen farming”. This activity also welcomed volunteers to participate along with their children, encouraging the younger generation to actively participate in volunteer service and learn to care for the community.

After the event, one of the young volunteers innocently suggested to his mother, "Shall we buy 100 packs of potato chips for the elderly?” This simple act of kindness exemplified the infectious power of volunteer service, which not only brought warmth to the beneficiaries, but also deeply moved the fellow volunteers involved.
Transforming Waste into Treasure, Promoting a Circular Economy

Maxim's has always been a supporter of charitable activities organized by its corporate partners. In support of Jardine Matheson's volunteering campaign to upcycle used t-shirts, Maxim's collaborated with the Group's F&B app Eatizen to contribute nearly 300 pieces of old uniforms. In collaboration with Dress Green, a social enterprise dedicated in repurposing waste into resources, these uniforms were creatively upcycled into cutlery holders and tote bags to minimize the pollution and waste in the fashion industry. 

These eco-friendly tote bags were donated to 100 beneficiaries along with daily necessities, further extending the positive impact of this initiative.

For over a decade, Maxim’s has spearheaded the "Love Bread Campaign" in partnership with food banks such as Feeding Hong Kong, Foodlink and Food Grace. Volunteers collect leftover bread from Maxim's Cakes and arome Bakery and distributed to underprivileged families, elderly and the homelessness. As part of the "WeGen Neighbourhood" initiative, Maxim’s launched a citywide Love Bread Reward Program which rewarded volunteers with the highest participation in the campaign through the above food banks in April, the program encouraged involvement of the wider community to get involved in green volunteer services .

In April, Ms. Chan participated in Love Bread Campaigns through Foodlink for 13 times and therefore won the Gold Award to enjoy a dinner set for two at Uoharu.
Reducing Waste While Helping Others

Having received overwhelming response last year in its three sessions last year, the coffee grounds tie-dye workshops had returned as part of the “WeGen Neighbourhood” this year. Once again partnering with Eco-Greenergy, volunteers upcycled coffee grounds collected from Maxim’s Japanese restaurants into eco-friendly dyes. These dyes were skillfully used to create tote bags and shawls adorned with dazzling tie-dye patterns, inspiring the community to embrace arts and waste reduction in their lives. 

Additionally, Maxim’s also co-organized the "Silver Hair Yum Cha O2O" with The Jade Club and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council. Over 250 elderly, family members and volunteers enjoyed dim sum together, rekindling cherished memories of past yum cha moments, fostering a heartwarming atmosphere of respect and care for the elderly.


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