Ever wonder where your KFC R2 goes?

Today, KFC Africa launched their new Add Hope television commercial that featured more than a 1 000 drawings made by kids and used for stop motion.

How many children are fed by Add Hope

If you have eaten from a KFC branch, you may have been asked if you would like to add R2 to your order to donate towards KFC’s Add Hope initiative. In its aim to highlight the plight of 3.2 million hungry children in South Africa, the project has since raised R263 million to feed them.

“This World Hunger Month, we’re the story of the difference proper nutrition can make in the lives of children, and how Add Hope brings our customers and KFC together to feed over 100 000 children in South Africa every day,” said chief marketing officer of KFC Africa, Mike Middleton.

On the criteria that determines which children are fed, “It is not necessarily which children are chosen but which beneficiaries are chosen. They are the ones who deliberate on which centres are supported. It mostly boils down to scale,” adds Middleton.

What the children are fed

According to Abby Courtenay, professional dietician, who consults with Afrika Tikkun (A children’s centre in Braamfontein), children in South Africa experience malnutrition from being over and underweight, coupled with various vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

The situation is further complicated by the many causes of malnutrition. Direct factors include inadequate food intake, while indirect factors are household food insecurity or lack of resources.

“When a child doesn’t get the right nutrients, malnutrition can manifest both mentally and physically. Classic examples would be a decrease in concentration, memory and fatigue as well as delayed or stunted development of muscle and bones,” adds Courtenay.

On what the children are fed, Courtenay said they try their utmost best to make sure they give them nutritious, healthy food, and they also make sure to refer to professionals on which types of foods are the best food for the different age groups.

Watch this video of a former recipient of the initiative:

World Food Programme (WFP) ambassador against world hunger Hlubi Mboya spoke to The Citizen on her passion for kids and what led her to her position in the WFP.