– Aims to provide 20 million meals to underprivileged children by 2020 –
May 13th 2016: KFC India has launched add HOPE™ – a program that aims to fight hunger in the country. KFC’s add HOPE ™ will create awareness and raise funds to provide meals to India’s underprivileged children through World Food Program (WFP), Akshaya Patra Foundation and India FoodBanking Network (IFBN). Together with these organizations, KFC aims to provide 20 million meals to underprivileged children by 2020.
The program was launched by Rahul Shinde, Managing Director, KFC India, who presented ₹2 crore to the World Food Program (WFP) and Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Commenting on the launch of add HOPE ™, Rahul Shinde, Managing Director, KFC India said, “We are a food company and it’s our privilege and responsibility to address the issue of hunger where millions of children go days without a proper meal. 1 in 4 children in India is malnourished and consequently, facing greater obstacles to reaching their fullest potential. Through add HOPE™ we want the children of our country to be given access to nutritious and balanced meals in order to grow and learn, so they can be their best selves. ”
Starting May 16th, consumers can feed a hungry child by adding ₹5 to their bill, each time they visit a KFC store. KFC employees in the 300+ restaurants around the country will also support local communities through volunteerism.
Rahul Shinde, flagged off the KFC add HOPE™ truck that will travel across the country distributing food grains at IFBN feeding sites. At Hyderabad, the truck was loaded with food grains donated by KFC employees and Kohinoor Foods Limited.
Dr. Hameed Nuru, Representative and Country Director, UN World Food Programme India, added, “WFP’s collaboration with the KFC add HOPE™ aims to highlight and drive action in the movement towards ending world hunger. A valued and collaborative partnership, it has been critical in addressing the challenges in India and also highlights the significant contribution that the private sector is making towards food and nutritional security through CSR. The WFP global and India family wishes to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions being made by this partnership, and sees it growing stronger and reaching out to more and more children with every passing year.“
Sundeep Talwar, CMO, Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “As an organization, we strive to fight issues like hunger and malnutrition in India. Our partnership in the past has garnered critical support for deserving children and we believe add HOPE™ program will further help address the hunger challenge successfully.”
Vandana Singh, CEO at Food Security Foundation India, India Food Banking Network, “Our mission to provide food to India’s underprivileged echoes with KFC’s add HOPE™ initiative. We share a common vision for eliminating hunger, and are confident that this partnership will contribute to sustain the food banking movement in India. ”
With an aim to provide 20,00,000 meals during the first year itself, KFC will kick off its collection drive across the country, starting 16th May, 2016.
About KFC
KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain with more than 19,000 KFC outlets in 130 countries and territories around the world. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM.). In India, KFC offers this international experience in over 301 restaurants across 81 cities. Some of the KFC favourites in India include Hot & Crispy chicken, Chicken Zinger, Veg Zinger, Rice Bowlz and the Krushers range of beverages, amongst others.
About WFP
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. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
About The Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation (www.akshayapatra.org), non-profit organization headquartered in Bengaluru, India, is the world’s largest (NGO run) mid-day meal programme. With a mission to reach 5 million children by 2020, the Foundation today serves meals to 1.5 million children from over 11,000 Government and Government Aided Schools across 10 states in India. Akshaya Patra kitchens are also known for their hygiene and quality standards with twelve of their kitchens ISO 22000:2005 certified.
About IFBN
Food Security Foundation India under its flagship programme – India FoodBanking Network (IFBN) addresses the issues of hunger through a network of FoodBanks. They have a vision to eliminate hunger in India by 2020 by establishing a strong and efficient network of FoodBanks throughout the country, so that every district has access to at least one FoodBank.