Learning from the media about the serious issue of food waste in society, Hu Baotao, a 57-year-old man from Ningbo, decided to drive his own small van across the country to promote the "Clean Plate Campaign." Since setting off on March 11th, Hu has already visited nearly 20 cities including Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Yancheng, collecting thousands of pledge signatures from the public.
"The campaign for practicing thrift and opposing waste should be carried out consistently, and we as citizens must also do our part," said Hu Baotao. His initial motivation was simple: to help this positive trend reach deeper into the grassroots level.
Hu Baotao named his initiative the "Charity Journey Across China." On March 11th, he set off from Ningbo, traveling with a second-hand minibus. Reporters noticed that the vehicle had a very unique appearance, covered entirely with posters themed around eliminating waste, and even had a large sign on the roof that read "Oppose 'Waste on the Tip of the Tongue.'" "This look is really eye-catching; people will remember it at a glance," Hu said proudly about his creative idea.
Since he's covering all expenses himself, to save money, Hu Baotao has set up his bed inside the van. Inside the cramped compartment, there’s also a pile of mysterious equipment. Hu said that while promoting anti-waste efforts, he’s also happy to offer various services to others.
"I want to give special thanks to my wife, who strongly supports my volunteer work. To support me financially, she went back to work after retiring," Hu Baotao said.
After doing promotional work, Hu Baotao takes out the "mysterious equipment" to provide some volunteer services to residents, such as sharpening scissors and kitchen knives, grinding traditional Chinese herbs, and taking photos. When time permits, he also visits local nursing homes to show movies for the elderly, check their blood pressure, and sometimes even play a few tunes on the erhu to entertain everyone.
It is reported that Hu Baotao is already an experienced volunteer. Since 2004, he has been actively involved in charity work in Ningbo year-round and was once honored as one of the "Top Ten Outstanding Volunteers in Zhejiang Province."