Hunger Relief

Whole Planet Foundation thrives because of the support of amazing volunteers, fundraisers, and advocates who generously contribute to its mission to alleviate global poverty, especially during the Annual Prosperity Campaign each March. From a Whole Foods Market cashier sporting a Mohawk to an office-based analyst coordinating a Ping Pong for Prosperity tournament, please join us in celebrating the members of the Whole Planet Foundation Hall of Fame who have dedicated themselves to creating opportunities for the world’s poorest people.

Over the weekend, I had the honor of speaking on behalf of Smithfield Foods alongside our respected allies in the fight against hunger, Feeding America and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). What a great opportunity to join together with likeminded organizations who share my company’s passion to eliminate hunger.

My talk centered on Smithfield’s ongoing commitment and greatest responsibility as a food company – to feed people, it’s what we do. We’re working toward fulfilling the company’s social purpose to improve food security and end hunger for the more than 42 million individuals facing hunger each day. And more specifically, I honed in on how we can all work together to serve populations that are disproportionately impacted by hunger.

More than 30 Sands China Care Ambassadors volunteered at Macau Holy House of Mercy’s Welfare Shop to distribute 350 food hampers to disadvantaged families days before Chinese New Year. Sands China Care Ambassadors has more than 1,600 volunteers from across all Sands China Ltd. properties, contributing close to 12,000 hours of voluntary community service in more than 50 activities in 2017.

Having donated over 100 million pounds of food, Pizza Hut is no stranger to reducing food waste. We’ve been in the game since 1992 when we launched our food donation program, Harvest.

In addition to running the Harvest program and participating in the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, we recently provided insight to ReFED, a multi-stakeholder nonprofit organization committed to reducing the $218 billion of food waste in the United States.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. joined forces with Winn-Dixie, B&R Stores, and Fareway to donate more than 165,000 pounds of protein. Smithfield’s contribution was part of the company’s 2018 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour. Now in the program’s 10th year, Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. The donations, equivalent to more than 664,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across northeast Florida, Nebraska, and Western Iowa.

Marina Bay Sands Team Members volunteered to join 12 beneficiaries from Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) Centre for Adults to purchase much needed groceries for 60 financially vulnerable families for the holiday season. The beneficiaries paired up with Team Members who provided guidance as they shopped for the groceries at the Giant Hypermarket at Tampines.

The premiere party in the state that hosts “The Big Game” each year is Taste of the NFL, which donates a portion of its proceeds to food banks and hunger relief organizations in each of the 32 pro football cities.

Our belief is that good business and good stewardship go hand in hand.

Given our role in helping to feed America and the world for over 125 years, we know that building social value and creating economic value are not competing goals. For us, there is no daylight between good citizenship and good business.

While we are committed to many worthy causes, including cancer research and fighting childhood hunger, it is our core business – efficiently producing delicious food for the world’s growing population – that we are most proud of. Since the beginning, we’ve believed that social responsibility is more than giving a percentage of our profits at the end of the year.

Employees from the Arrow Electronics office in Neu-Isenburg, Germany recently volunteered their time at local food bank Speisekammer. For several weeks, Arrow employees helped food bank staff transport, unpack and dispense food to the low-income families who utilize Speisekammer’s services.

Plano-based Alliance Data was approached by the North Texas Food Bank three years ago to offer support to their not-yet-announced capital campaign to expand its services and build a new distribution center. The company committed $2.5 million to the campaign, specifically for the center, which will allow the agency to focus not just on food, but on nutritious food from a facility in the heart of Plano, home of Alliance Data's corporate headquarters.