NEWS

For four days, from May 15th-17th, and May 20th, 2024, the student group "MyPlate Project" sold bento boxes to support Taiwan. "MyPlate Project" is a student organization where international students from various countries and regions gather to introduce how to make healthy dishes from their home countries. Since fall 2023, the group has been active as part of APU's support system Project B.

In response to the earthquake off the eastern coast of Taiwan on April 3rd, the group members discussed what they could do to help and decided to sell bento boxes as a charity event. Hoping to gather support through delicious Taiwanese food, they included "Taiwanese Karaage," made with a secret recipe passed down from the father of one of the Taiwanese members, TIEN Hsin (2nd-year student in the College of Asia Pacific Studies), on the menu. Taiwanese karaage is characterized by its use of pepper and herbs, and its crispy batter made with eggs. During the event, the bento boxes were sold in limited quantities each day at the cafeteria and sold out every day. Taiwanese member ZHU Guanyi (2nd-year student in the College of International Management) shared her thoughts on the project, saying, "When I heard the news about the earthquake off the eastern coast and saw the devastation in photos, I was very saddened. Although I am far from my home country, I felt there was something I could do precisely because I am at APU, which wishes for world peace, so we held this charity event."

Comment from Representative ZHENG Weiyi (2nd-year student in the College of International Management):
Many APU students participated in this project, hoping to support the disaster area even a little. Through such activities, I want to convey to the people around us that we can actually contribute to the international community and help each other. MyPlate Project operates with the hope of passing on the inspiration brought by the traditional foods of international students' home countries to the next generation. We hold healthy cooking classes featuring dishes from various countries once a month, promoting international exchange through food culture. This summer, we are planning a training camp in Kunisaki Peninsula, Oita Prefecture, a globally recognized agricultural heritage site, where we will gather cooking circles and student groups from across Japan to study Japanese food culture.