KFC tackles childhood hunger during the Covid-19 lockdown

Childhood hunger is one of South Africa’s most pressing challenges because millions of children in the country, go hungry every day. About 60% of children in the country live below the poverty line and many receive their only meal of the day at school.

Following the shutdown of schools in South Africa which closed on the 18th of March because of COVID-19, many families are living wondering where their next meal will be coming from. In response, KFC Africa has organized its Add Hope programme and network to help provide meals for hungry families during the lockdown.

KFC Add Hope campaign has been filling tummies since 2009, raising money through customer donations added at the till or on the Add Hope website. Today it provides more than 30 million meals a year to more than 150,000 children through their partners which include more than 140 non-profit organizations such as early childhood development centres and school feeding schemes.

Prior the lockdown, and in partnership with Afrika Tikkun, KFC Africa distributed more than 4,000 emergency food parcels in Burgersfort (North West), Ga Mashamtane (Limpopo), Olievenhoutbosch, Orange Farm, Diepsloot Alexandra, Johannesburg Inner City, and Mfuleni (Western Cape).

Overall, more than 31,000 people received food parcels thanks to the hard work of more than 100 staff at various beneficiary organizations to ensure distribution.“The school closures due to COVID-19, through absolutely necessary, are devasting as many children who were used to receiving a meal a day at school are now going without. This leaves those whose families who have no income, as well as child-headed households incredibly vulnerable, further exacerbating an already dire situation,” said Akhona Qengqe, Chief People Officer at KFC Africa.

Qengqe concludes that as an organization, they have a critical responsibility to act in the interest of South Africans by continuing to support disadvantaged communities that are served by the Add Hope programme.