MANILA, Philippines - Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, together with the United Nations-World Food Program (UN-WFP), recently visited conflict-affected communities in Lanao to observe the WFP’s ongoing feeding program for schoolchildren.
The school-based feeding program, which benefits thousands of children in conflict-affected Central Mindanao, is part of the annual World Hunger Relief Program (WHRP), a campaign touted as the world’s largest private sector hunger relief effort to raise awareness, volunteerism and funds to benefit WFP.
Established in 2007, the WHR is primarily focused on engaging Yum! Brands’ associates, franchisees and consumers in over 41,000 restaurants around the globe to end world hunger by contributing money to help feed beneficiaries of the WFP.
“We’ve been a supporter of the World Food Program since 2008, and we continue to support it by raising awareness about food and nutrition security among our customers and employees,” shared Teck Huack “TH” Lim, chief operating officer of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. “In the Philippines, we have over 5,000 employees and by engaging them to be part of WHRP, we can make a huge contribution in alleviating hunger while encouraging our employees to grow into socially responsible members of their community,” he added.
Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Philippines have raised over P25 million to help feed Filipino schoolchildren through WFP. This campaign is one of the largest private sector hunger relief initiatives spanning more than 125 countries and territories.
“We thank Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Philippines for their unrelenting support throughout the years,” said Martin Bettelley, deputy country director of WFP Philippines. “Through their initiative, we get to provide nutritious meals to schoolchildren in Central Mindanao who need them the most. In time, we can all achieve our goal to end world hunger.”
Lim and Bettelley led the recent distribution of nutritious meals and loot bags to 900 children from Denaig Elementary School in Poona Piagao, Lanao del Norte, and Pindulonan Elementary School in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.
The World Hunger Relief 2015 campaign to raise funds for school meals in conflict-affected Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao will start in November across all Pizza Hut and Taco Bell outlets in the Philippines. This year, Philippine Pizza Inc. aims to sell tokens in exchange for donations, which cover coin banks and loose change.