KAIN PO
Meals that Matter
By Kamille Theresa Corpuz
Program Manager
CPG-RSPo Foundation Inc.
National Children’s Month is celebrated in November in the Philippines annually. This month-long celebration aims to give Filipino children access to a healthy environment, good education, and healthcare.
Coincidentally the RSPO Foundation also celebrates the life and legacy of its late founder, Mr. Ricardo S. Po Sr. whose advocacy is geared towards the health and nutrition of the Filipino people, especially the children. We celebrate and give back to the community each year through KAIN PO – Meals that Matter.
Everybody’s Milk
Snow Mountain Dairy Corporation, our subsidiary from Taguig together with the CPFI Research and Development team kicked off last November 4, 2022, by providing meals and Birch Tree Fortified milk to 200 students of Taguig Integrated School which aims to energize them through a whole day class.
In the same week, the team also extended their support to about 400 senior citizens of Bagumbayan, Taguig City through the provision of meals and our newly launched Birch Tree Advance.
Overlooking the Zamboanga Peninsula
Muruk Elementary School is located at Upper Pasonanca which is approximately 10 km away from the city proper. Going there took us about 2-hour rides and a hike. It was an easy trail but thinking about how the teachers and students endured long walks every day made us admire their dedication and willingness to learn.
Buwan ng Pagbasa was observed by having one of our volunteers as a “reading ambassador” where children enjoyed listening and participating to the stories entitled “sa piling ni Nanay” at “ang alaga”.
The CPFI Sardines were also able to fundraise backpacks filled with school supplies and tumblers for 170 students. Packed lunch consisting of sardines lumpia and rice with vita coco as refreshments were also distributed after the reading activity.
Meat-ing and having fun with the Community
Biñan was still recovering from Typhoon Paeng when we held our activity last November 16, 2022. In every disaster, all the members of the community are in survival mode, and thus had little time to attend to the needs of the children.
Employees from Canned Meat and PMCI joined forces to heed the call of the City Social Welfare Development Office and fundraise school supplies and activity books for the benefit of the three (3) daycare centers which have around 100 students in each center.
The volunteers who joined that day prepared games and danced with the young children which lifted up their spirits despite the calamity they went through. Rice topped with Argentina corned beef was shared by the community before the event ended.
Nuts about helping
Despite facing auditors throughout the week, employees from our coconut subsidiary, CPAVI were able to dedicate November 18, 2022, to prepare hot meals for about 100 beneficiaries of Bawing National Highschool. The community near this school also received coconut seedlings to replace the senile coconut trees and looking forwards to have a bigger yield in the next 4-5 years.
LODIs on the road
During the pandemic, people from the metro seek solace by going on a road trip to Rizal. This paved the way for our volunteers from the Supply Chain and Logistics Division to extend their support to the community after a safe and fun joyride last November 19, 2022.
Calawis Elementary School is one of the schools situated in the foothills of Sierra Madre Mountain range in Rizal. Them team was joined by a volunteer group Bayan ni Juan where they prepared activities to 200 students. Meaty Spaghetti was also served using our Hunts and 555 Carne Norte products.
Apart from taking the day to volunteer, the employees also fundraised school supplies, and loot bags containing hygiene products to be given to the students.
TUNAy ang Malasakit
To cap off the Meals that Matter activities, our General Tuna Corporation who has been a long-standing advocate of the KAIN PO Feeding program and embraces the value of inclusivity in their business unit, served hot meals to around 150 beneficiaries of Bagong Silang Elementary School wherein most of the pupils are T’boli children.
These activities highlighted the importance of private and public sector joining hands to provide access to education and safe environment for the children. As what our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal once said: “The youth is the future of the nation” and investing in children is key for the betterment of the next generation.