The cereal and snack giant said that it was supporting the global event by “spearheading” hunger relief efforts through the company's Breakfast for Better Days initiative, which was launched earlier this year.
Kris Charles, vice president of Kellogg’s global communications told BakeryandSnacks.com: “We believe the most positive impact we can have on the world is through our foods, so it is natural for us to focus our philanthropic efforts on hunger relief.”
As part of the programme Kellogg has said it will provide a serving of food to those in need every time someone shares or “likes" the company's new World Food Day video in which representatives from the firm talk through what the Breakfasts for Better Days initiative entails.
At the time of publishing, the video on Kellogg’s official YouTube channel had 850 views, 82 shares and 86 likes. Watch the video HERE.
Beyond World Food Day
When asked why a multinational corporation needs an excuse to donate food, Charles said: “Kellogg donates food throughout the year to the hunger relief organizations and food bank associations in each of our regions around the world. Last year, Kellogg donated more than $39 million in food.”
“But hunger is a problem bigger than any one company or sector. We want to engage our consumers in the solution to hunger. The more people, businesses and public entities that are engaged in the effort to end hunger, the more quickly we will find and implement these solutions,” she said.
Charles told BakeryandSnacks.com that all stakeholders have a role in the fight to end hunger.
“As a global food manufacturer, we believe the most positive impact we can have on the world is through our foods. By raising awareness of the problem, donating millions of servings of cereal and snacks and engaging consumers and others in the industry, we can make a difference in the fight against hunger,” she added.
Nutrition
Kellogg said the food it offers is appropriate to offer to those in need and therefore vulnerable to malnutrition, saying: “We provide a variety of convenient, nutritious and high-quality foods – all of which can fit responsibly into consumers’ diets.”
Charles also commented that the problem of, and therefore solution to, hunger across the globe differs greatly according to circumstances, region and those affected.
“For instance, the challenges and solutions around child malnutrition in developing countries are different than those around food insecurity in the United States or Europe. And these realities require different solutions,” Charles said.
“These solutions could include better farming techniques, greater availability of food supplies, education or access to breakfast programs for children. We work to find these solutions both by donating food to feed those in need now, while also supporting programs that seek to address hunger over the long-term,” she added.
Kellogg refrained from telling BakeryandSnacks.com how much this initiative is costing the company.
World Food Day - which takes place on October 6 each year - was established by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization in 1979 and first observed in 1981. Its aim is to give an opportunity for focus on the problems and solutions in the drive to end hunger.