On the 10th of July, 2022, the Century Pacific Group, the Philippine food and beverage company behind household brands such as 555 Sardines, Century Tuna, Argentina, and Birch Tree, banded together with Gawad Kalinga (GK), a leading poverty alleviation and nation-building NGO, serving 300 thousand meals to children to promote the Nationwide Feeding Day.
This marked the launch of Century’s campaign to deliver 10 million protein servings to school children in 2022 as part of its flagship feeding program, Kain Po. The group activated the program through GK communities nationwide.
Christopher Po, the Executive Chairman of Century Pacific Food, Inc. shared, “Hunger is a pervasive issue in this country. With this partnership, we hope that we can contribute to making a dent to this huge challenge.”
To bring the program to life, GK activated its network of volunteers and worked with the local government to help prepare nutritious meals for the children.
Mark Cruz, Gawad Kalinga’s Program Lead, said, “The meals we serve are based on recipes from the National Nutrition Council. For today in particular, we’re making ‘tortang 555 sardines with malunggay’ and with rice, giving the children a well-balanced diet. On top of that, our community volunteers are mothers and fathers who cook for their family, so they get to discover new ways to make healthy meals.”
Among the beneficiaries is Arkong Bato, a GK community located in Pasig, where 300 children were served with freshly cooked meals. Supporting the program was Pasig District Representative Congressman Roman Romulo, who attended the event to visit the children and the community.
Kain Po’s Program Director, Kamille Corpuz, said, “July has been designated by the National Nutrition Council as the Philippine Nutrition Month to raise awareness and improve nutrition in the country. We’re very thankful to our partner, GK, and the local government units, who enable us to contribute and reach more communities in a sustainable way. We hope that as we progress with this partnership, we can inspire others to join our cause and rally behind hunger alleviation for our nation.”