Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Monday said it has distributed over 70,000 nutribuns to poor communities as part of its efforts to provide food aid for Filipinos still struggling to cope with the economic impact of the pandemic.
“It’s been almost a year since the pandemic started, and while we have made a lot of headway in terms of addressing the spread of the Covid-19, its economic impact continues to be felt today by almost all sectors of society, particularly the vulnerable. Access to food and basic nutrition is still an issue, especially for our poorest families. This is why we have continued our nutribun distribution program which we started September last year to this day,” company president Ramon S. Ang said.
The company revived nutribun, a staple for schoolchildren during the Marcos era in the 70s to fight malnutrition and hunger, in March last year to provide immediate and nutritious food aid to poor communities following the lockdown. It also started regular distribution of the nutrient-packed bread to select communities in September through its network of Petron gas stations.
Since then, the company has been distributing 4,000 pieces of nutribuns per week to the poorest communities of Malolos, Tondo, Payatas and Caloocan through the help of LGUs, the Diocese of Malolos, Gawad Kalinga, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, Puso ng Ama and volunteers of its Better World Tondo facility in Manila.
“We are grateful for our partners’ work in making sure that our nutribuns reach those in need. In the midst of this pandemic, it is crucial for us to continue working together to help as many people as we can,” Ang said.
Its Better World Tondo community center also continued to provide daily meals for 465 families in the Tondo area, along with weekly groceries as lockdown guidelines required them to stay home. Volunteers also provided meals for all locally stranded individuals in Manila North Harbor and Rizal Coliseum as well as the fire victims near the center.
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