Beiersdorf Ghana, skincare products company, has donated 250,000 Euros (GHC1.719, 444.45) to Food for All Africa (FFAA), a non-governmental organisation, to ensure reliable supply of nutritious meals to school children and their families through a redesigned school feeding programme.
Schools currently not under Government’s School Feeding Programme will benefit from the initiative, which is adaptable to the ever-changing environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is to enhance FFAA capacity to support food security resilience in COVID-19 emergency and recovery.
Country Manager of Beiersdorf Ghana, Olivier Bodson, said the donation forms part of the localised efforts to ease the hunger burden and impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable members of the community.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra to announce the donation, Mr Bodson said keeping food banks active in the communities was important in the midst of the heavy impact of the pandemic on the lives of the people.
“Food banks are powerful interventions, which positively change lives and communities. They are an interconnected lifeline to the hungry and equip communities to feed themselves. We at Beiersdorf recognise the importance of strengthening food banks as it fosters resilience and enhances the community’s capability to fight hunger long term,” he said.
Mr Bodson said it is part of their programme dubbed “care beyond skin” to care for the people who had been impacted by the pandemic.
Founder and Executive Director of FFAA, Elijah Amoo Addo, expressed gratitude to Beiersdorf for the donation, which would enhance other initiatives of the NGO including Mobile Food Bank Kitchen, vocational training and capacity building for more than 120,000 beneficiaries.
“The Mobile Food Bank Kitchen is a community-based program that provides nutritious meals on wheels to communities free of cost. The grant from BDF will support adaptation of the mobile kitchen program and add a second mobile kitchen truck to the fleet,” he said.
“In addition to providing emergency meals, the Mobile Food Bank Kitchen is an opportunity for mothers to develop their chef skills and obtain a job. With BDF funding, FFAA will expand this culinary kitchen training program, including job placement assistance.”
Mr Addo said the FFAA intended to improve efficiency in service delivery to existing beneficiaries and scale up efforts to new areas.
The Beiersdorf FFAA partnership is expected to last for 12 months. Beiersdorf Ghana is part of the Beiersdorf Group, a global leading provider of innovative, high-quality skin care products, with over 135 years of experience.
