Adding Hope
Under normal circumstances, KFC’s Add Hope programme provides over 30 million meals a year to over 150,000 children across the country – supporting more than 140 different non-profit organisations, who are the implication partners for the Add Hope Funding. These are for the most part, early childhood development centres and school feeding schemes and include several organisations with a national footprint as well as smaller organisations which service specific communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown has had a devastating impact on food security - specifically on those children who often get their only meal at school - and, as such, in response to this, KFC have- and will continue- to fully mobilise their Add Hope programme and network to ensure that they can address food security challenges emerging from the decline in economic activity and lockdown regulations.
COVID-19 Efforts To Date
- Distributed over 10,000 emergency food parcels in partnership with Afrika Tikkun, ahead of the lockdown, to families with enough provisions to last them 3 weeks. Some of these areas include Burgersfort (NW), Ga Mashamtane (Limpopo), Olievenhoutbosch, Orange Farm, Diepsloot Alexandra, JHB Inner City, Mfuleni (Western Cape). In Kwazulu-Natal, 1000 Hills Area, the team also distributed 150 big and 300 smaller emergency food parcels. Bloemfontein (FS) and surrounding areas, as well as KwaNyamazane in Mpumalanga also received much needed food support.
- Distributed food parcels to over 50,000 people and have had more than 100 staff at various beneficiary organisations working hard to ensure these distributions go out.
- Continue working with its network of beneficiary organisations, as well as authorities, to find ways to safely assist these children, their families as well as others that are in dire need during this time.
- React to reports of where there is increased need and partnering for example with the Department of Social Development to assist 150 homeless children, who were given a safe haven, with meals
- Working with authorities to expand these efforts to as many families as possible in the weeks to come.
- Allocated additional funding during this time, to mitigate the impact of reduced economic activity on funding
Donating Restaurant Stock
Furthermore, the lockdown had left KFC restaurants with excess food where the perishable food in some instances was given to our team members at the start of the 21 - day shutdown. All non-perishable goods will be distributed to those in need over this time – through our network of beneficiaries and food security partners.
Andra Nel and her team have a critical responsibility to act in the interest of the South African nation and this means continuing to support the communities which they serve through their Add Hope programme. "Today, more than ever, we need South Africa to feel Hope and we will continue our feeding efforts to the most vulnerable in our society." Andra concludes.
