Food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is donating 560,000 kilos of rice to several communities throughout Metro Manila as part of its ongoing initiative to help alleviate the impact of Covid-19 on poor families.
San Miguel president Ramon Ang said in a statement the group delivered food to some 126,000 families during the first week of Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
“Starting this week, we will also be adding rice to our food donations. We have been able to source 560,000 kilos of rice. We plan to give 10 kilos per family and through this, we hope to be able to continue to help the most vulnerable among us—people who are out of work and families struggling to eat,” Ang said.
San Miguel to date has provided 1.1 million pieces of canned goods, 695,000 sachets of coffee, 288,000 packs of biscuits, 21,630 servings of its version of “nutribun” and 24,338 servings of pandesal. It also donated spreads, dairy milk drinks and water.
Ang said the company, through San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., was committed to continue providing food donations to those who need it the most, as he assured the public the company has the capacity to produce enough food for the country for the next six months.
San Miguel’s food donations are being coursed through various channels, including local government units, charitable groups and church organizations. It also made direct donations to hospitals and various communities across Luzon.
Families under the care of San Miguel Better World Tondo, a food bank and learning facility established last year, were also beneficiaries of the relief effort.
“What we want is for food to be one less worry of vulnerable families, health workers, and front-liners against Covid-19.” Ang said.
The local government units that received food donations from San Miguel included Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Malabon, Pateros, Mandaluyong, Navotas, Marikina, Parañaque, Makati, Pasay, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig and Valenzuela.
Hospital beneficiaries include the Philippine General Hospital, Medical City, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Las Piñas General Hospital and the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center.
San Miguel earlier said it tapped its manufacturing facilities to produce 70 percent ethyl alcohol to address the shortage of hand sanitizers and disinfectants. It donated 13,000 units of disinfectant for the sanitation of hospitals and government and public facilities.
