Food Producers Give Haiti Aid
Several leading food producers have together pledged more than $1million dollars to help survivors devastated by the Haiti earthquake.
Cargill, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, The Kellogg Corporation, Kraft Foods, Yum!, have all donated between $25,000 and $500,000 following the 12 January natural disaster.
Mark Murphy, assistant vice-president of corporate affairs at Cargill, said: “Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti who are suffering through this natural disaster.”
As well as donating $50,000, volunteers at Cargill’s Minnesota headquarters packed 20,000 meals to be sent to Haiti, through the charity Kids Against Hunger, with a further 30,000 to be sent over the next month.
The ConAgra Foods Foundation pledged $100,000 to the International Red Cross Relief Fund and General Mills donated $250,000 to support relief and rebuilding in Haiti through American Red Cross and CARE International.
General Mills Foundation’s executive director and vice-president, Ellen Goldberg Luger, said: “It’s difficult to imagine the scale of this disaster and the tremendous challenges facing the people of Haiti following Tuesday’s earthquake. The priorities are to support the critical immediate response efforts as well as the rebuilding of this community.”
Charitable off-shoot, Kellogg’s Corporate Citizenship Fund, committed $250,000 and has offered to match employee donations dollar-for-dollar.
“This disaster has devastated what is already one of the poorest countries in the world. The situation for the people of Haiti is dire, and we believe it is critical for us to provide support to relief efforts,” said Celeste Clark, senior vice-president of corporate affairs.
The Krafts Food Foundation donated $25,000 in aid and the Louisville based Yum! pledged $500,000 from its World Hunger Relief campaign, which raises awareness, funds and promotes volunteering for the United Nations’ World Food Programme.
David Novak, chairman and chief executive officer at Yum!, added: “The situation in Haiti is devastating and our sympathies go out to everyone impacted by the earthquake. I visited Haiti over a year ago after hurricanes ravaged the country. We were so moved that we immediately pledged the first $1 million raised from our World Hunger Relief campaign that year to go to Haiti.”