Melo Villareal
MANILA, Philippines — Starbucks Philippines strengthened its partnership with Gawad Kalinga for its Kusina ng Kalinga Program as part of the company’s continuous global advocacy for hunger relief. Starbucks Philippines and Gawad Kalinga have a shared goal to help fight hunger and support communities in the Philippines.
Gawad Kalinga’s Kusina ng Kalinga program is their strategic response to address hunger and malnutrition among Filipino children and pregnant and lactating mothers. It is a food donation program where thousands of nutritious meals are prepared and distributed to those in need. These meals are prepared by volunteers in their community kitchens, then picked up by parents and guardians or directly distributed to children in public schools, on the streets, and even in disaster and conflict areas.
As part of the Global Community Impact Grants, The Starbucks Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to Gawad Kalinga’s Kusina ng Kalinga in April 2022, supporting nutrition for 600 youth in two communities in Quezon City and Laguna, as well as providing nutrition education and support for building and maintaining community vegetable gardens. Starbucks Philippines donated an additional $25,000 each to the Philippine FoodBank Foundation and Gawad Kalinga to expand its hunger relief programs in 2023 in Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Taking the first steps toward fighting hunger
In July 2022, the Kusina ng Kalinga program started implementing the program in Gawad Kalinga communities in Toyota, Sta. Rosa Laguna and Tribuin, Batasan Hills.
On December 13, Starbucks Philippines and Gawad Kalinga held a face-to-face volunteering program in Gawad Kalinga Batasan, Quezon City. This program was implemented across three GK barangays: GK Pioneer, GK Tribu, and GK Telus II, and Starbucks partners (employees) volunteered to help prepare and serve meals to 300 children in need of nutrition.
“Starbucks Philippines is committed to help fight hunger and support thriving communities. As we work towards fighting hunger, we are honored to be serving our beneficiaries alongside our friends at Gawad Kalinga. We are only at the start of this fight against hunger in the country and we aim to be able to help more communities in the coming months,” said Char Vilchez, manager for Marketing & Global Responsibility at Starbucks Philippines.
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