Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Pacman donate P5.3M to fight hunger

This is a press release from the UN World Food Programme:

MANILA, Philippines – Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, with brand ambassador and 8-division boxing champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, fight hunger in the Philippines with a P5.3 million (US$120,000) donation to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

The contribution, raised from the World Hunger Relief campaign conducted by these brands, will support WFP’s school feeding program in Central Mindanao.

The check handover event was recently held at the Owner’s Circle of the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

“We are committed to strengthen our support in helping WFP provide more nutritious food to the school children of Mindanao,” said Teck Huak Lim, Chief Operating Officer of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Philippines. “Our brands, together with our employees, will continue to raise awareness, volunteerism and funds to fight hunger.”  

“The school feeding program ensures that school children in Central Mindanao have one less thing to worry about so they can instead focus on their studies,” said WFP Philippines Representative and Country Director Praveen Agrawal. 

He added: “According to our monitoring data, school feeding programmes help increase the retention rate of students in WFP-assisted schools by over 90% – a testament to how school feeding helps these children stay in school.”

The WFP’s school feeding program served hot and nutritious meals to around 100,000 school children from conflict-affected communities in Mindanao. The program was held during regular school days, which has been demonstrated to increase retention and attendance rates of the students.

A meal, which consists of rice, mung beans, and vegetable oil, only costs P10 per meal for a child. 

Yum! Brands’ Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, began their World Hunger Relief campaign in 2007 and have since raised P26.9M (US$600,000) to help feed Filipino school children in the.

“We would like to commend and thank Pizza Hut and Taco Bell for the continued partnership in making sure that hot meals are provided to the children that need it the most,” Agrawal said.

Globally, the campaign has raised P8.1B (US$185 million) which has supported the work of WFP and other hunger relief organisations. – Rappler.com

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. To learn more, you can visit them on Facebook or Twitter.