Companies

Kraft Foods finds a recipe for success

By Wang Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-18 16:40

Campaign to improve food safety and health for poor rural students

SHANGHAI - Boiled drinking water, a hot meal eaten with clean cutlery and maybe a biscuit for an afternoon snack... while not exactly a luxury it used to be a dream for Li Haiyan, a third-grade girl student in a rural area of Yunnan province. Now that dream has come true.

Lorna Davis, president of Kraft Foods in China, helps migrant workers' children paint a wall at a primary school in Shanghai. Kraft Foods (China) Co Ltd and China Youth Development Foundation said they were setting up a campaign to improve food safety and the health of primary school students in China's rural areas. [Photo/China Daily]

A campaign launched by Kraft Foods (China) Co Ltd and China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) aims to improve food safety and the health of many primary school students in the nation's vast rural areas, as well as teach cooking skills and food hygiene to teachers.

Li is one of the direct beneficiaries of the initiative. On June 8, a Kraft Hope Kitchen was opened at Li's school, Menghu Hope Primary School in Yongren county, Yunnan province. "We can have a hot lunch every day now," said the 10-year-old Li.

In the eyes of youngsters like Li, food is extremely precious. The first time Li received biscuits was from Kraft Foods. Instead of taking a bite, she put them into her schoolbag. "I am not hungry. I will bring it home for papa and mama," she said.

Research funded by Kraft Foods and CYDF to China's 106 Hope schools in 17 provinces and regions showed the critical problem for children was no longer hunger but malnutrition.

Project Hope has made great progress in helping millions of children in rural and poor regions to get educated. Newly built cement buildings and brand new chairs and desks have replaced the old teaching facilities. However, the research found more could be done.

Each Hope school gets a subsidy of 50 yuan ($7.50) a month, allowing them to only provide a scoop of vegetables and soup for every meal. It fails to meet the nutritional needs of children, according to the research findings.

Among the 967 people polled, nearly 70 percent of the children said they felt hungry during classes, and more than 30 percent of the children said they were frequently short of food. The majority of them could afford to eat meat more than once a week.

Just half of the 106 Hope schools are equipped with canteens, and of these less than 30 percent can heat up food and lack cooking equipment. None of the schools has the basic facilities of a kitchen, such as washing, sanitizing, cleaning, storing, freezing and food processing.

The findings led to the birth of the Kraft Hope Kitchens project for poor regions. Since the program was launched in October 2009, Kraft Foods has donated a total of 5.5 million yuan to build 100 Hope kitchens in 100 Hope schools in Anhui, Yunnan, Jilin, Hunan and Hebei provinces, benefiting more than 50,000 village children aged between 6 and 12.

Kraft Foods says it is keen to play a part in China's food and future. The Kraft Hope kitchens helped the company achieve this goal by providing rural children with clean and nutritious food. "Children represent the future of China. This is the place where we want to focus," said Lorna Davis, president of Kraft Foods in China.

"The program doesn't bring about any financial benefit but we are glad to make some changes for these youngsters. We want to bring delicious food and a valuable experience to the children in our communities."

On Oct 9 more than 500 Kraft Foods (China) employee volunteers from the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Guangzhou and Jiangmen, and also from the provinces of Jilin, Hunan and Anhui, helped more than 3,000 children in migrant workers' schools, orphanages and Kraft Hope kitchen schools.

They handed out delicious food to the children, painted classrooms and school buildings, donated books and sports equipment, taught children how to bake food and taught the youngsters about nutrition and health.

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The event is part of Kraft Foods' global community initiative called "Make a Delicious Different Week", which lasted from Oct 4 to Oct 9. During this week, Kraft Foods employees worldwide were encouraged to put aside their work one day to perform community service in their neighborhoods.

Kraft Foods China has always focused on helping rural and urban children in need to improve their nutrition, food supply and food hygiene practices. This year, Kraft Foods (China) organized eight community volunteer activities in five cities and eight provinces across China.

"Everyone who lends a helping hand or who is being helped will feel good at the same time. We hope that the volunteer efforts of Kraft Foods (China) employees will help the disadvantaged people in our community, especially the children, feel the love and care for them in this world," said Che Fei, Kraft Foods (China) director of corporate affairs.

Over the past 25 years, Kraft Foods has donated nearly $1 billion dollars to communities in the form of food or cash, and the company is determined to continue conducting volunteer activities worldwide.

Kraft Foods is the world's second largest food company, making products for billions of consumers in approximately 170 countries. The Kraft Foods portfolio includes 11 iconic brands with revenues exceeding $1 billion. The company realizes annual revenue of approximately $48 billion.