Sysco LABS Sri Lanka introduced the ‘Share a meal. Share a moment’ initiative to provide warm meals, following health and safety guidelines to communities in need in and around Colombo.
The company initially pledged to donate 10,000 warm meals by December 31, 2020. However, due to an overwhelming response from its associates, a total of more than 12,000 warm meals were donated by the end of the project.
To ensure that meals were donated to those who really needed it, Sysco LABS sought the support of two volunteer groups who were experienced in the area; the Robin Hood Army and Ghedora Connects are two well-known charity organizations which are focused on hunger relief within the country and have important information and expertise about where the meals were most needed.
The Rotaract club of Achievers Lanka Business School also came on board as volunteers to aid the charity organizations’ efforts to distribute as many meals as possible.
Commenting on the origins of the project and the inspiration behind it, Shanil Fernando, Managing Director Sri Lanka and SVP Engineering said, “2020 was a challenging year across the board for everyone, with many people losing their jobs and livelihoods due to the pandemic. With this project, Sysco LABS’s hope was to fulfill an essential need in the community: a safely prepared warm meal to share with their family.” Shanil also went on to state that the project was an extension of Sysco’s hunger relief efforts across the global locations they operate, noting that Sysco donated 40 million meals across eight countries as part of its COVID-19 response.
Whilst this phase of the project was a success, the company is aware of the reality that this is merely the start of the fight against hunger in Sri Lanka and that there is much more that needs to be done.
Commenting on this understanding and how the company plans to take this initiative forward, Kushani Kalpage, Senior Manager Marketing said, “We understand that we are only at the beginning and this is a deep-rooted issue not only in our country, but around the world. As part of Sysco, the leading global foodservice distribution company, this is an initiative close to our hearts.We plan to continue prioritizing hunger relief in2021 as well.”
If you,or anyone you know would like to donate a warm meal to those in need and help them to share a moment, you can contact The Robin Hood Army Sri Lanka.
Sysco (NYSE:SYY) is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home.
Sysco LABS supports Sysco’s digital transformation, with engineering teams in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Austin, Texas and Houston, Texas in the USA.
0 comments: