McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen continues to serve Filipinos in need
Popular American television host Fred Rogers once cited a lesson his mother taught him during times of crisis. To remain hopeful, he said to look for the helpers because you will always find people who are helping others in their time of need.
There has never been as big of a crisis in modern history as the COVID-19 crisis, affecting the health of millions and leaving millions more without jobs or income and exhausting the medical health care system. It is during this critical period that helpers are needed most, and many public and private institutions are taking up the cause to give aid to those who are most vulnerable.
This is why international fast food chain McDonald’s launched its Kindness Kitchen in March 2020 in response to the country’s enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that aimed to prevent the virus’ spread.
With an initial goal of serving 50,000 meals to support frontliners and marginalized communities amid the pandemic, McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen had since grown a year after lockdown, continuing to scale its program amid the new strict guidelines imposed by the IATF and serving more than 460,000 meals to date.
McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen aims to stay true to the organization’s commitment to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos by providing assistance during this challenging time. The initiative was led by Ronald McDonald House Charities Philippines (RMHC), McDonald’s charity of choice.
The kitchens are actual physical McDonald’s stores manned by restaurant crew and managers and other employee volunteers.
“Guided by our core value of malasakit, we have always been committed to serve our communities. Through our Kindness Kitchens, we are pleased to serve meals and bring simple happiness to many of our fellow Filipinos. We are very grateful to our partners who’ve entrusted us with their generosity. To date, we continue to serve meals especially to health care workers who have been in the front line of battle against the pandemic,” said McDonald’s Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang.
McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen continues to serve Filipino communities today. As of the end of March 2021, more than 500 communities have been served, including over 400 hospitals and quarantine centers. It has since collaborated with a total number of 300 government offices and non-government organizations.
This was made possible with the generosity of individual donors as well as over 70 partners such as Coca-Cola, Metrobank Foundation, Angkas, HAVI Logistics, Chevrolet to name a few.
As the pandemic continues to ravage vulnerable communities around the country, every little bit of support helps. If you want to support McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen and know more about Ronald McDonald House Charities Philippines, please visit www.rmhc.org.ph.