PHOTO (L-R): Simonetta Verdi, Managing Director, Government Affairs, Ford International Markets Group, Bo Holmgreen, Founder & CEO, SOS Global, Josie Gonzalez, Director, Government and Corporate Affairs, Ford Philippines, Arthur Winston Bitagcol, Director of Operations, SOS PH Food Rescue and James Leyson, Managing Director, SOS Thailand & Philippines.
Ford Philippines entered into a partnership with Scholars for Sustenance (SOS), a global food rescue foundation, to support its food rescue operations with a donation of a Ford Transit van and a grant of $30,000 through Ford Fund.
Ford Philippines turned over the Ford Transit during SOS’ Zero Summit Philippines 2023 held last August 8, 2023. With the theme “Zero to Hero”, the summit aimed at fostering collaboration among various stakeholders including the academe, business organizations, civil societies and government agencies to achieve the goal of zero food waste and zero hunger by 2030.
The food rescue program of SOS Philippines aims to reduce food wastage through collaboration with its donors in collection of surplus food, ensuring food safety in handling and delivery of the goods to partner communities. With the Ford Transit, SOS Philippines can proactively recover and transport non-perishable food items and subsequently transform the collected items into more nourishing meals to effectively address hunger within underserved communities while reducing food wastage.
“We are fully committed to supporting SOS Philippines and its advocacy of serving undernourished communities and curbing food wastage in the country. We trust that the Ford Transit will boost their mobility needs from various establishments to the communities who will benefit from this worthwhile endeavor,” shared Josie Gonzalez, director, Government and Corporate Affairs, Ford Philippines.
This initiative is crucial to meeting SOS Philippines’ goal in curbing food wastage, considering that in the Philippines alone, one in every ten households experience issues of food insecurity and hunger while a substantial amount of food goes to waste from establishments.
“There is an abundance of food available, and our mission at SOS is to ensure it reaches those in need. Reducing food waste and alleviating hunger requires a multifaceted restructuring of the entire food system, from production and distribution to consumption,” shares James Leyson, SOS Managing Director for the Philippines and Thailand.
SOS is a global food rescue foundation that aims to address the long-standing food security problem in the most undernourished communities across Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines through various programs including the Rescue Kitchen Program where unused food ingredients are collected from various establishments and Food Rescue Program where quality surplus food from establishments are collected and are transformed into nourishing meals.
