More than 820 million people go hungry worldwide, most of them female, Kellogg Company chair and CEO Steve Cahillane said this week. He made the statement as part of his keynote address at the Sustainable Brands ’19 in Detroit.
Cahillane unveiled the company’s next generation commitment to address global food security, Creating Better Days.
Kellogg is making a commitment to help end hunger for three billion people by the end of 2030, he says.
The company will do so by:
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nourishing one billion people with its foods, delivering nutrients of need and addressing hidden hunger;
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feeding 375 million people in need through food donations and expanded child feeding programs;
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nurturing the planet as it supports one million farmers, especially women smallholders and workers;
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conserving natural resources all along the value chain, from responsibly sourcing ingredients and reducing food waste, to providing recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging;
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encouraging employee volunteerism, ensuring an ethical supply chain and supporting diversity and inclusion;
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And living its founder’s values by advocating on behalf of hungry children everywhere and engaging 1.5 billion people to help address the important issue of food security.
Earlier this year, Kellogg announced it was ahead of goals for its Breakfasts for Better Days commitment. “We’re far ahead of schedule, reaching more people with greater impact than we envisioned at this point,” Kellogg Company senior vice president, global corporate affairs, Kris Bahner says.
In the last decade the company has provided three billion servings of food to people in need, supported 329,000 farmers through climate-smart agriculture programs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions to the equivalent of taking 317 million miles off the road, Bahner says.
Kellogg ANZ managing director Esme Borgelt says: “It is devastating that in an economy like ours, people still go hungry, and it seems things are getting tougher for many people especially in rural and regional areas.” (See also: OzHarvest expands reach with Food App F&DB 04/06/2019.)
“Often we think of food insecurity as an issue in developing markets but according to Food Bank around four million Australian’s have experienced food insecurity in 2018, many of who are categorised as having very low food security,” Borgelt says.
“Under our global Breakfast for Better Days platform, we have been partnering with organisations including the Clontarf Foundation, Auckland City Mission and Food Bank, as well as made food and financial donations to Rural Aid, to help create better days for families in Australia and New Zealand need. We have donated approximately 25 million serves over the past 5 years.
“We are very proud that we have been sourcing 100% of our grains from Aussie farmers for 90 years, and are still doing so today. Even though the ongoing drought is taking its toll on supply, we continue to support our farmers by buying all of our grains locally.”
Breakfasts for Better Days will wrap up at the end of 2019 to be picked up by its new initiative.
