Bali’s Fearless Expats and Locals Join Million Meals Paddle, a 10 km Paddle Race in Beautiful Sanur Coastline

SANUR, Bali (BPN) – Scholars of Sustenance Indonesia a food rescue foundation, which has been operating in Bali since 2017, organized the “Million Meals Paddle,” a 10 km ocean paddle rally that started and ended at the Rip Curl School of Surf at Prama Sanur Beach Hotel, on Saturday 24^th of September 2022.

Stand-up Paddle Board, Surf Board, Canoe/Kayak, and Double Canoe/Kayak are the four categories this year.

The event’s objective is to generate money to feed the needy populations in Bali and Indonesia, including orphanages, homes for the disabled, victims of natural disasters, and other vulnerable communities throughout Bali at the same time protect the environment by reducing the quantity of food waste disposed of in landfills.

More than 50 participants show up at the Rip Curl School of Surf at the Prama Sanur Beach Hotel at 6 a.m. for registration, which is followed by a pre-paddle briefing and an official event opening by Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra, MBA, the owner of the Santrian Group of Hotels and the Chairman of Yayasan Pembangunan Sanur.

International and local participants waited at the starting line on the beautiful Sanur beach as the countdown to the 10 km paddle challenge began at 7 a.m. in the morning.

The sky was clear and sunny, and the participants quickly ran one by one to their paddles to begin the challenging paddle race.

Professional surfers including Patrik Duke, Ryuki Waida, and Lidia Kato were spotted participating in the race. Philip Duke, a 13-year-old junior professional surfer who entered the surfboard category and has been surfing since he was 4 years old, expressed his excitement to participate in this charitable event.

“I want to support the vulnerable, and if there is another event like this, I’d like to participate again. This event is so much fun, even though it is exhausting”, he stated.

The majority of participants agree that the event was a lot of fun and are happy they took part especially because they can help people in need in Bali through this event.

“It was amazing,” said Kevin Girard a hotel General Manager from Canada who participates in the SUP category

“The 10 km Stand Up Paddle challenge was hard and great. I did not give up but gave it my all. The complete setup for the spectators, raffles, yoga, massage, and entertainment for kids was great Thank you for making this possible,” said Nikolaj Jensen, owner of Nick Tours agency in Sanur who took the Stand Up Paddle Board Challenge.

Sara van Beek from the Netherlands who won 2^nd place in Canoe/Kayak category said “You have to embrace – not fear the challenge! We hope 10 years from now the food system is different.”

The event included lunch, beverages, yoga sessions, the practice of breathing and apnea exercises, free shoulder massages, a fun golfing activity using biodegradable golf balls, and an entertaining face painting. A lucky draw and a silent auction are also available.

According to General Manager Minni Vangsgaard of Scholars of Sustenance Indonesia (SOS), the foundation’s objective is to minimize the amount of food waste that ends up in landfills.

“From our Bali hospitality partners, including hotels and restaurants, we regularly rescue a large amount of surplus food. We collect nutritious food that is suitable for consumption and distribute it to those in need”.

She added, “However, every day of the week, running a food delivery and pick-up operation includes significant operational costs. This is a fundraising initiative to ensure that everything goes as planned and that we can continue to rescue food and offer communities nutritious food”

According to the results of a study by Bappenas, Indonesia disposes of 23-48 million tons of food waste per year in the period 2000-2019, or equivalent to 115-184 kilograms per capita per year. The resulting economic loss is Rp 213-551 trillion/year or about 4-5 percent of Indonesia’s GDP per year.