Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. on Thursday said it is including rice in its donation as its initiative to help communities affected by the lockdown in Luzon due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic reaches 126,000 families.
“One week after the community quarantine was first implemented—followed by the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine—we have been able to deliver food to some 126,000 families through various channels,” said SMC President and COO Ramon S. Ang.
“We will also be adding rice to our food donations. We have been able to source 560,000 kilos of rice. We plan to give 10 kilos per family and through this, we hope to be able to continue to help the most vulnerable among us—people who are out of work and families struggling to eat,” Ang added.
The company so far has provided some 1.1 million pieces of canned goods, 695,000 sachets of coffee, 288,000 packs of biscuits, 21,630 servings of its nutribun and 24,338 servings of pandesal. It has also donated spreads, dairy milk drinks, and water.
Ang said that the company is committed to continue providing food donations, and assured the public that San Miguel Foods has the capacity to produce enough food for the country for the next six months.
The company’s food donations are being coursed through various channels, including local government units, charitable groups, and church organizations. It has also made direct donations to hospitals and various communities at over Luzon.
“What we want is for food to be one less worry of vulnerable families, health workers, and frontliners against Covid-19,” he said.
The company has also utilized its manufacturing facilities to produce 70 percent ethyl alcohol to address the shortage of hand sanitizers and disinfectants, and is also donating 13,000 units of its own Protect Plus Gold powdered disinfectant for the sanitation of hospitals and government and public facilities.
The whole of Luzon has been placed on enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19 which has infected 707 and killed 45 people, according to the latest data from the Department of Health (DOH).