Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John’s Silvers, A&W All-American Food and Taco Bell, has launched the world’s largest hunger relief effort in an attempt to help stop world hunger. Called “World Hunger Relief Week”, the programme supports the United Nations World Food Programme.
During 14 to 20 October, all 35,000 company and franchised restaurants located in 112 countries, will be participating in some way or another, including the two franchised brands in Malta, namely KFC and Pizza Hut.
All Pizza Hut restaurants situated in Sliema, Valletta, St. Julians and Bugibba together with KFC restaurant, situated in Gzira will be participating in this global initiative by donating 10% of all sales generated throughout the WFP global week promotion (14 – 20 October). Additional fund-raising will be held with the staff working within the restaurants and at Head Office level. Moreover, dine-in customers can also donate money and add to the final figure that Food Chain (Holdings) Limited will be transferring to WFP Funds Account in Rome, Italy.
“We are proud that such a small island with limited market resources will contribute globally to a worthwhile cause,” commented Mr. Marco Debono, Marketing Executive for YUM! brands franchises in Malta.
Over 850 million people go to bed hungry every night in all corners of the globe. More people die from hunger each year than from war, tuberculosis and AIDS combined. In fact, every five seconds, a child somewhere dies from hunger.
Yum! hopes to raise awareness of the hunger problem, mobilize nearly 1,000,000 employees across its company and franchise system to volunteer their efforts, and raise funds from the more than 125 million customers that visit its restaurants each week. With funds raised, the company hopes to save hundreds of thousands of people from starvation.
“Our World Hunger Relief efforts will continue year after year. Our goal is to create a global movement to help stop the dying, and start the living. We believe we can truly make a difference in the lives of others by helping them move from hunger to hope,” said David C. Novak, Yum! Brands Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The company partnered with the U.N. World Food Programme, the world’s leading humanitarian agency feeding 90 million poor people, including 58 million hungry children, in 80 of the world’s poorest communities.
World Hunger Relief Week addresses the harsh reality that there are 850 million people suffering from hunger every day. "This campaign will raise awareness among tens of millions of people around the world," said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme, who added that the world's largest humanitarian organisation will use any funds raised to fund its greatest needs.
The efforts of Yum! and its five brands are making it possible for funds to go directly to feeding people in WFP’s areas of greatest need – such as expanding school feeding programs to serve more children and families; providing essential food assistance to new mothers and their infants and increasing school attendance among girls by providing take-home food rations.
The company is leveraging the power of the internet to reach millions of people through the http://www.fromhungertohope.com/ website and other on-line activity. The interactive web site includes information about hunger, the WFP, how to donate to World Hunger Relief Week, updates on WFP outreach activities, Google mashup map highlighting volunteer updates from around the world and much more.
KFC and Pizza Hut franchises are operated in Malta by Food Chain (Holdings) Limited, a subsidiary company of The Farsons Group of Companies.
About World Food Programme
Established in 1963, WFP is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger. WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency: on average, each year, we give food to 90 million poor people to meet their nutritional needs, including 58 million hungry children, in 80 of the world’s poorest countries. WFP – We Feed People.
About Yum! Brands, Inc.
Yum! Brands Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with over 34,000 restaurants, which includes over 2,000 licensed restaurants, in more than 100 countries and territories. Four of the company’s restaurant brands — KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s — are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza, Mexican-style food and quick-service seafood categories respectively. The company and its franchisees today operate over 3,500 multibrand restaurants.