Cargill pledges 16 million meals to support Covid-19 relief efforts in India

As COVID-19 continues to spread, there is a growing need to feed the most vulnerable communities in our society. In line with its purpose of nourishing the world, Cargill has pledged 16 million meals to feed families through dry ration kits and cooked meals.

The relief efforts will impact 150,000 families across 16 cities in India; including Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Pune, Kurkumbh, Kandla, Surat, Bengaluru, Davangere, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Bhatinda, Noida, Nagpur, Varanasi and Jaipur.

“This global crisis requires a fully concerted approach to be adopted. Given the critical nature of our business, we are cognizant of our role in the relief and recovery efforts. We are doing everything needed to ensure supply of essential food and feed products continues,” shared Simon George, president, Cargill India who are also supporting local authorities and reaching out through NGO partners to provide food items and meals to nourish those impacted. “We will continue helping communities during this time of need,” he added.

To implement this, Cargill is working with three NGO partners; namely, Akshaya Patra Foundation, Feeding India and India Food Banking Network (IFBN), reaching out to communities pan India.

The dry ration kits include food items like pulses, rice, oil, wheat flour, spices etc. depending on local requirements. And cooked meals are also being served daily across these states.

Cargill’s efforts also include a monetary contribution to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM Cares Fund). Cargill is also leveraging its own distribution network and working with local state authoritiesto meet hyper-local needs with in-kind donations across the country.

Sundeep Talwar, Chief Marketing Officer, Akshay Patra Foundation, said, “Our partnership with Cargill has strengthened our resolve to serve the ones most affected in this hour of crisis. Support from Cargill shall enable provision of cooked meals and dry ration kits for thousands of marginalized families who have lost their livelihood. We hope our collaborative efforts will alleviate the burden for these families.”