SMC puts up 1st food bank in Tondo

MANILA, Philippines — Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is putting up its first food bank and community center in Tondo, Manila.

This aims to address hunger, food wastage and poverty, SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon  Ang said in a statement.

“SMC’s Better World Community Center will be “the first of its kind in the country,” Ang said.

The center will serve as a food bank, soup kitchen and a livelihood training center for low-income families.

“ This is just the first. By building more sustainable communities in the country, we hope to empower those in reduced circumstances to be able to transform their lives,” Ang said.

SMC will put up the food bank on a 1,000-square meter facility—which used to be a beer warehouse and distribution center in Barangay 101 in Tondo.

The San Miguel Foundation has partnered with the local chapter of international organization Rise Against Hunger to help with the food bank and soup kitchen.

“A lot of problems faced by lower-income families, especially hunger, is rooted in inequality. We are committed to bridge that gap,” Ang said.

The group is targeting to feed more than 5,000 people every day.

Rise Against Hunger will help in recovering surplus food from San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB), its food service arm Great FoodSolutions, as well as the Manila Diamond Hotel and Makati Diamond Residences,” Ang said.

“Donated food will be stored in a food bank in the community center. SMC and Rise have set up a system that is sustainable for the long-term and will maintain strict standards for hygiene,” he said.

SMC, in recent years, ramped up its sustainability efforts. In 2017, it launched a major initiative to cut group-wide water use by 50 percent by year 2025.

The company is into a wide variety of businesses such as food and beverage, power, tollways and infrastructure among others.