56 companies join together to donate more than $217,000 in food to Central American families
October 14, 2021.
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The initiative called Collective Impact for Food contributes to the fight against hunger in the region
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Walmart and 55 suppliers join forces for the second consecutive year
Walmart de Mexico and Central America and 55 Central American suppliers come together to donate more than $217,000 in essential products to food banks in the region, within the framework of World Food Day, which is celebrated on October 16.
The 56 companies join forces in the campaign called Collective Impact for Food, which seeks to bring nutritious food to more than 142,601 vulnerable people as an effort to combat hunger in the region, which affects 1 in 10 inhabitants in Central America. This is the second edition of the initiative organized by Walmart and supported by its suppliers.
Some of the Walmart suppliers from Mexico and Central America that are part of the initiative are Nestlé, Bimbo, Coca Cola FEMSA, Mondelez Internacional, Dos Pinos, Pozuelo, Productos Pro Salud, Grupo Lala, Kellogg's, Unilever, Cargill and Dinant.
The effort of Walmart and its suppliers seeks to contribute to the goal of 'Zero Hunger', whose goal is to end hunger in the world by 2030 and is one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Organization.
“At Walmart we are committed to helping improve people's quality of life. We are convinced that access to food helps the prosperity of communities from a health, economic and social perspective. We will continue to promote projects that collectively impact beneficiaries, companies and society,” said Yolanda Fernández, Deputy Director of Social License at Walmart México & Central America.
The more than 113,000 kilos will be distributed in the communities thanks to the support of food banks in the region: ABACOR Association (Costa Rica), Génesis Solidarist Civil Association (Guatemala), Honduras Food Bank Association, Solidarity Foods Civil Association (El Salvador) and El Maná Foundation (Nicaragua).
This and other initiatives distinguish Walmart in its mission to contribute to improving the quality of life of Central American families. In 2020, the retail company donated $9.3 million in food to families affected by poverty, natural disasters and the pandemic. In total, 1.2 million people benefited.
Zero waste and donation of perishable products
Walmart has also implemented a Zero Food Waste policy. It consists of donating those store products and plants that for some reason cannot be sold, but are completely suitable for human consumption.
Since March 2021, the company incorporated perishable products such as fruits and vegetables into its donations to food banks. To this end, that same year, it allocated $200,000 in projects to strengthen the cold chain logistics of food banks.
Hunger in the world
It is estimated that between 720 and 811 million people in the world suffered from hunger in 2020, according to the study The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). ).
Hunger is a problem that severely affects Central America and the world. In 2020, 9.9% of the world's population suffered from hunger, as well as 10.6% of Central Americans.
In Central America, 20 million people suffered from severe food insecurity. Additionally, 67 million Central Americans were unable to access enough safe and nutritious food for adequate growth and development. This phenomenon, known as moderate or severe food insecurity, was experienced by more than 2.3 billion people in the world during 2020.
In the case of children under 5 years of age, 149 million were stunted, 45 million were excessively thin, and 39 million were overweight.