Spreading kindness, battling hunger.
This was the rationale behind the latest round of hot meal distribution activities spearheaded by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles together with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) officials, who on Friday trooped to Parañaque City to hand out 2,000 hot meals prepared by McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen (MKK).
“The voluntary, unprompted assistance extended by these companies is the kind of bayanihan we need in these difficult times.”
The day before, Nograles, head of the government’s Zero Hunger Task Force, led a similar activity in Caloocan City. The activities are part of a campaign under Pilipinas Kontra Gutom (PKG), a multi-sectoral coalition that aims to address involuntary hunger in the Philippines.
According to Nograles, “one of the objectives of PKG is to provide meals for families that require additional nutrition––and we can help directly address this need by tackling hunger and poverty in LGUs (local government units) in the National Capital Region.”
Nograles thanked all those who participated in the project, and said that the national government “is extremely grateful to our partners in the private sector for their generosity and kindness.”
“The voluntary, unprompted assistance extended by these companies is the kind of bayanihan we need in these difficult times,” said Nograles.
“One way to beat hunger, to beat poverty, is via a public-private partnership, and the PKG campaign is a perfect example of this.”
“One way to beat hunger, to beat poverty, is via a public-private partnership, and the PKG campaign is a perfect example of this.”
Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez was among those who joined Nograles in distributing 2,000 free food packs containing crispy chicken fillet, rice, and bottled water. With them were RMHC Vice President Margot Torres, RMHC Treasurer Robert Ramos, Assistant City Nutrition Action Officer Dr. Maria Cristina Peñaflorida, and other Parañaque City government officials.
Olivarez thanked RMHC and Nograles for the food assistance for his constituents. Speaking in Filipino, the Mayor expressed hope that the project would grow and expand “so that more families can benefit from this initiative, which we see as an effective means to reduce hunger and malnutrition among our countrymen.
Aside from RMHC, Coca-Cola Philippines, San Miguel Corporation, Metrobank and Dole Philippines also contributed to the activity.
Established in 1995, RMHC is the charity arm of McDonald’s Philippines. Its mission is to make a positive impact on the lives of children via relevant programs in areas like education and health. The group is responsible for distributing over 320,000 meals to healthcare workers, police and security personnel, LGU volunteers, government agencies and local communities via the McDo Kindness Kitchen.