KFC Add Hope doubles up its food relief campaign to stem hunger

04 August 2021 - Having already swiftly mobilised more than one million food parcels in the past few weeks, KFC Add Hope has further responded to the enduring and chronic food shortages in the hardest hit areas of KZN and Gauteng, by pledging a further one million food parcels.

These food parcels are being distributed by partners on the ground, led by HOPE worldwide South Africa to those most affected by the recent unrest and looting, including a number of ECD centres, schools as well as victims suffering loss due to fire. The parcels sustain a typical family-of-four for approximately two weeks.

“This is an evolving situation, the unprecedented scale of which has required us to scale our efforts by the week as much as possible to meet the need on the ground,” says Andra Nel, CSI Manager at KFC South Africa. “The entire KFC family is pulling together to help rebuild the most-affected communities.”

The confluence of these three events – school and business closures during the latest pandemic lockdown, coupled with job losses following the rioting; and finally increases in food prices due to shortages – have placed many already hungry families in a truly dire position.

HOPE worldwide South Africa’s Dr Marc Aguirre said that food insecurity in the months to come is now a very real reality for many especially for those who live below the poverty line. “Food insecurity and rising food prices have a devastating impact on impoverished communities. It means less food purchasing power both in terms of quantity and quality. This has an impact on health, child development, and social and mental well-being. South Africa has been facing a food security crisis long before the recent unrest, but now every dimension of food security has been negatively impacted by recent events – access, affordability, nutrition and stability and the impact can be clearly seen in the hardest hit areas.”

“We are working closely with disaster management authorities and our network of beneficiary organisations on the ground to focus our efforts on the most hard-hit areas and to maximise our impact. The two million meals so far pledged are being distributed daily and will be in addition to our regular outreach,” says Nel.

Started in 2009, the KFC Add Hope initiative provides over 30 million meals per year to over 150,000 children daily and supports more than 140 different NPOs. “Notwithstanding this scale, we are only too aware that much more needs to be done.” 

“We are of course only one of many brands acting in collaboration with government, other corporates, NPOs and communities to rebuild communities in their time of greatest need. Feeding schemes, which were vitally important even prior to lockdown and unrest, have become that much more critical. However, the need for food security is increasingly pressing,” concludes Nel.