Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) is the social responsibility arm of Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), one of the largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant companies in the world. JGF implements programs on agriculture, education, and disaster response with partner communities nationwide. The JGF has already donated million-worth of meals for frontliners and families in need from March to May this year.
Many families have been severely affected by the ongoing pandemic, reason that the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) partnered with the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Pamilya ng Pantawid (SNPP) and the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability-East Asia Pacific (ANSA-EAP) to distribute some 215,000 food packs to families in need across 42 cities and municipalities in Luzon and Visayas.
SNPP is an independent organization composed of parent-leaders who are also members of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. It has around 80,000 household-members across the country. ANSA-EAP, on the other hand, is an inter-country resource facility for social accountability, and is SNPP’s institutional partner for providing leadership and skills-building seminars.
SNPP and ANSA-EAP’s established network enabled JGF to systematically identify affected communities that became direct beneficiaries of food packs from Jollibee Group.
“In times of crisis, access to food is always a major concern. During this pandemic, the spirit of bayanihan is very much alive and we are humbled by how Filipinos from all walks of lives came forward to find ways to bring assistance during these uncertain times.” said JGF Executive Director Gisela Tiongson. “Being mindful of social distancing while doing food distribution required new ways of doing things. Our NGO partners, including SNPP and ANSA-EAP, made it possible to deliver food quickly and directly to the homes of those who need it the most.”
“Dahil matibay ang samahan ng SNPP, mahusay ang naging distribution—organized at may social distancing. Natuto ang parent-leaders sa tamang pagdi-distribute,” said SNPP president Jaina Catacio. “Sa mga beneficiary, hindinilaakalainna may ipamimigay talagana Jollibee chicken packs. Naiyak at naluha sila, hindi akalain na matutugunan ang tawag ng tiyan, (Because of the strong structure and relationships within SNPP, the organization was able to help keep the distribution organized while ensuring social distancing. The parent-leaders even learned about how to properly conduct the distributions. The beneficiaries could hardly believe that there were Jollibee chicken packs that would be distributed. There were some in tears because they did not expect that their hunger would be addressed).”
Jollibee Group FoodAID Program
The food distribution effort is part of Jollibee Group’s FoodAID Program wherein the company earmarked P220 million-worth of food donations. From March 15 to May 10, 2020, the Jollibee Group and its non-government partners have already served over 3.8 million meals to frontliners and families all over the country.
“Even now when the community quarantine restrictions have been eased in many regions, many families are still need our help,” said Tiongson. “Together with our partners, we are exploring more ways to help even more families.”
To give the public a convenient way to actively take part in the Food AID Program, the JGF has recently taken the coin banks that used to be found only on the counters of Jollibee Group stores and made them available online.
Donations to the Jollibee Group’s digital coin bank will be used to bring food packs directly to the doorsteps of families in need through the help of JGF’s partner non-governmental organizations, including SNPP and ANSA-EAP.
For interested donors, they may donate through online bank transfer to the Foundation’s Metrobank (Acct. No: 473-7-473-01406-4; Swift Code: MBTCPHMM) and RCBC (Acct. No: 1253-10519-0) accounts, or via PayMaya (http://pymy.co/jollibee).