For most people, a restaurant kitchen is a place of relentless motion — burners flaring, knives flashing and the organised chaos of cooking.
But for More Good Co-Founder, Matt Abergel, something deeper simmers beneath the surface: a belief that food can create connection.
More Good bridges the worlds of food, education and philanthropy to create a positive community impact. Its mission is to nourish those in need with quality ingredients and care. Operating from a professional kitchen in Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island, freshly cooked meals are prepared and distributed, free of charge, to people across the city through its own network and partner charities.
FROM FAMILY MEALS TO FEEDING COMMUNITIES
Great ideas often begin with an act of care. That moment came during the global Covid pandemic, when the city’s restaurant industry came to a standstill and kitchens fell silent. What began as a way to feed its own teams soon grew into a mission to support others through food, compassion and connection.
Abergel and his team saw this as an opportunity to help. “In restaurants, we call staff meals ‘the family meal’ because in that moment, that is your family. It’s a brief exchange of your day — getting to know the people you work with, taking time to stop what you’re doing to better understand them,” he says. “During Covid, we couldn’t serve customers, and started thinking about the resources, staff and skill we could use to do something bigger than ourselves. That’s where it all started.”
Working closely with beneficiaries across Hong Kong, More Good now serves many elderly residents in Chai Wan. “It’s not that they can’t afford to cook; it’s thatthis is a treat for them,” he says. “They appreciate food in the purest sense, with joy and gratitude.”
REDEFINING WELLNESS
For Abergel, wellness isn’t measured in calories or nutrients, but in something more essential. “It’s about being in the right mindset while you’re eating — not worrying where your next meal is coming from.”
Central to More Good’s philosophy is the belief that food should always be served with dignity. Drawing on their restaurant backgrounds, Abergel and his team apply the same professional standards and respect to every dish they prepare. Each of the roughly 400 meals cooked daily is designed to be simple, tasty and “healthy-adjacent”, nourishing and comforting in equal measure.
“This is our livelihood and our life’s work. We’ve taken what we do and placed it in a charitable context that isn’t transactional or hierarchical,” says Abergel. “The ability to cook for people who aren’t customers is more about care than an exchange.”
PRIDE ON THE PLATE
If Abergel could shift anything in Hong Kong’s food culture, it would be attitude. “We tend to have a selfdeprecating view of local cuisine, but we should take pride in it, especially from a wellness standpoint. Our city’s elderly population demonstrates that what they eat works. The idea of food as medicine is already ingrained in traditional Chinese medicine,” he says.
Encouraging greater introspection when it comes to Hong Kong’s food culture, Abergel sees the city’s high longevity numbers — it consistently ranks at or near the top of international rankings — as a testament to the wisdom of local tradition. “Everyone talks about the Mediterranean diet,” he says, “but the Cantonese and Southern Chinese diets are linked to some of the world’s longest lifespans. We should be studying what’s right in front of us.”
THE POWER OF SMALL ACTS
Over time, Abergel has learned that compassion doesn’t require grand gestures. “People from every background want to help, but often they don’t know how, or think they can’t make a difference,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be money or big commitments. Small amounts of compassion go a long way.”
While up to 90 percent of the company’s funding currently comes from hosting events, fundraising gala dinners, corporate team building and community events, Abergel hopes greater awareness and partnerships will allow the organisation to expand its reach. “If we had more time and funding, we could feed so many more people.
We’re looking for the right partners to help us grow.” Ultimately, Abergel’s hope for every More Good meal is simple: “That those who receive it feel supported, connected and seen. In a city like Hong Kong, isolation is real. For the elderly, the homeless and refugees, it can be a very lonely place where you are constantly overlooked or ignored. Compassion makes people feel that it’s not hopeless.” For Abergel and his team, it’s about restoring the quiet dignity of being cared for, one meal at a time.
