Working to Alleviate Global Hunger
The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation (Kraft Heinz Foundation) pursues its mission through strategic partnerships with organizations that have programs aligned with hunger relief, nutrition support, and self-sustaining food sources.
Provide 1.5 billion meals to people in need by 2025 from 2019.
90%
Our work toward alleviating global hunger is deeply rooted in the collective determination of our Foundation partners, Kraft Heinz brands, and dedicated employees. Kraft Heinz employees from all corners of the world have passionately joined the Foundation’s work through annual volunteer efforts, underscoring the critical nature and immediacy of our work in helping to alleviate world hunger.
We are currently focused on our goal of providing 1.5 billion meals* to those in need by 2025. In 2023 alone, we provided approximately 368 million meals to people in need. From 2019 through 2023, we’re 90 percent of the way to our 2025 goal.
We have aligned our current key partners towards this goal:
* Kraft Heinz defines a ‘meal’ or ‘meal equivalency’ as a unit of food or nutritional value. Kraft Heinz utilizes the meal count as a general guide to estimate the impact and reach of our philanthropic work to improve food insecurity. Meal equivalencies are calculated in close partnership with our expert charity partners and are based on several factors including targeted group (e.g. children, adults, etc), local needs and regulations in the areas where they serve. For in-kind donations, where no specific meal equivalency calculation is available, Kraft Heinz uses the standard USDA equivalency where 1 meal is equivalent to 1.2 pounds of food.
Kraft Heinz and the Lifting Hands Foundation Fight Hunger in Costa Rica
Kraft Heinz continues to support communities across Costa Rica where employees live and work, specifically in the central region where Kraft Heinz operates. In 2023, around 130 Kraft Heinz employees took action during a volunteer service day in Bajos de los Anonos spent painting, helping with maintenance projects and collecting waste alongside the Lifting Hands Foundation, a local organization that works with communities to break the cycles of poverty. Kraft Heinz also partnered with the Lifting Hands Foundation to address childhood food insecurity and malnutrition in Pavas by creating the Por Un País Hambre Cero (“For a World with Zero Hunger”) program. During this months-long program, more than 130 families received nutritional evaluations, food donations, and information about nutrition and well-being topics through educational workshops. Kraft Heinz employees were instrumental in supporting its success – from helping to prepare food donations to teaching workshops to playing with the families during project days.
Kraft Heinz Brands Take Action to Support Communities
Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative Continues to Help Preserve
Black-Owned Restaurants’ Cultural Legacy
The Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative, a partnership with The LEE Initiative and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ), began in 2020 with the ambition to celebrate, uplift, and preserve the legacy of Black food by breaking down the barriers that keep Black voices and cooking out of the American culinary pantheon. In 2023, Heinz continued to sponsor this hallmark grant program, resulting in 62 additional Black food businesses across the U.S. receiving grants from the Black Kitchen Initiative and bringing the brand’s total grant contribution so far to $3 million. To further celebrate these voices, the award-winning Black Kitchen Series podcast spotlights Black culinary innovators and the many ways Black individuals are moving the culinary space forward. In 2023 we created Open Kitchen, a new event series that gives up-and-coming Black chefs a chance to grow their clientele and gain exposure for their culinary businesses. Kicking off in partnership with world-renowned chef, Marcus Samuelsson, past and current Black Kitchen Initiative grantees will take over high-profile restaurant kitchens in exclusive pop-up experiences.
ABC Collaborates with Yayasan Helping Hands to Launch Culinary Business Workshop for Students with Disabilities
Kraft Heinz Indonesia, led by our legendary ABC brand, continues to play an active role in supporting the development of the culinary industry in Indonesia. In 2023, ABC collaborated with Yayasan Helping Hands and six Special Schools for students with disabilities to launch an inclusive culinary business training program titled #AKUKAMUBERDAYA Bersama ABC (Me and You Empowered with ABC). The program aimed to support and empower youth with disabilities to achieve their dreams in the professional culinary business while also emphasizing the Company’s dedication to diversity and inclusiveness. During the two-day workshop at the Kraft Heinz Indonesia Innovation Center in Jakarta, the Kraft Heinz Food Service Institute team shared a range of essential culinary business topics to help nurture students’ passions to become skilled culinary entrepreneurs, from basic cooking techniques, food safety and cost-margin calculation to marketing e-commerce best practices.
“Heinz Field” Makes Meaningful Comeback at Aliquippa High School
In the United States, Kraft Heinz unveiled a new “Heinz Field” at Aliquippa High School in Aliquippa, PA – a school at the center of an incredibly deserving community that has served as the starting point for countless proud alumni and more Pro Football Hall of Famers than any other high school football program. Kraft Heinz also made a $1.3 million charitable donation to the Aliquippa School District to help bring new resources to the community and to support building an academic and athletic center next to the renovated “Heinz Field” football stadium. The center will serve as an inspiring and collaborative meeting place for students and community members alike.
Rise Against Hunger
The Kraft Heinz Foundation (and prior to that, the H.J. Heinz Holding Corporation) has been a partner of Rise Against Hunger since 2013. Originating from the desire to provide nutritious and efficient meals to those facing hunger across the world, our partnership with Rise Against Hunger now impacts a wide variety of issues ranging from addressing global hunger through localized, urgent needs, to wider systemic, long-term projects. Today, we are Rise Against Hunger’s largest partner.
In July 2021, the Kraft Heinz Foundation committed to a $12 million donation, dispersed over the following three years to support Rise Against Hunger’s global efforts to end world hunger and put last-mile communities on a path to self-reliance. In 2023, during the third year of this commitment, Rise Against Hunger was able to reach over 3.6 million people through food distribution, local procurement, and sustainable agriculture projects, resulting in the equivalent of approximately 255 million meals provided.
Through Rise Against Hunger’s sustainable agriculture projects, they were able to empower communities and impact 845,333 people across eight countries including Malawi, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, India, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe. Rise Against Hunger implements projects with local leaders and supports long-term food security through a variety of initiatives, including sustainable agricultural training, microenterprise loan programs to support small business, installations of water wells, solar pumps, and more.
Skills-Based Volunteering
The Kraft Heinz Global Procurement team launched the “Rise Together Procurement Program.” This program sees procurement leaders across the organization volunteering their time and expertise to serve an additional 4.4 million people annually through optimizing suppliers, pricing, and supply chains. In 2023, this collaboration yielded a substantial donation of over 20 truckloads of food worth approximately $500,000 delivered to Rise Against Hunger for emergency response efforts, with an additional approximately $100,000 worth of food delivered to other partner organizations. As we continue to grow this program, we are also in strategic discussions with select global suppliers in ingredients, packaging, and logistics to join the fight to end world hunger alongside Kraft Heinz and Rise Against Hunger.
Engaging Employees through Service - Global Packathon and Meal Ambassador Program
Approximately 4,000 Kraft Heinz employees came together in 2023 to fight global hunger by packing approximately 900,000 meals for children and families in need through the annual Kraft Heinz Packathon – our largest companywide volunteering effort. During this event, employees packed Rise Against Hunger’s signature meals that contain a blend of rice, soy, dried vegetables, and a micronutrient sachet developed in collaboration with food science and nutrition experts from Kraft Heinz.
The annual Packathon is underpinned by the Kraft Heinz Meal Ambassadors program, a hand-selected group of passionate employee volunteers who spearhead meal-packaging events across the world and engage their colleagues in Rise Against Hunger’s mission. Meal Ambassadors are also given the opportunity to visit regions where Rise Against Hunger operates to witness the impact of their work. In 2023, Meal Ambassadors traveled to South Africa and visited schools and early childhood development centers who receive meal support from Rise Against Hunger’s operations.
Red Cross
The American Red Cross responds to about 65,000 disasters across the United States every year — mobilizing a team every eight minutes — providing relief, comfort, and hope to people during what can be the worst days of their lives.
As rapidly intensifying storms, extreme heat, record floods, and widespread wildfires continue to devastate communities across the country, donations from Disaster Responder members, like Kraft Heinz Foundation, continue to fuel Red Cross readiness and build response capacity in times of crisis.
Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) members pledge financial support in advance of disasters to power the Red Cross with strong infrastructure, trained volunteers, innovative technology, and critical resources necessary to provide relief and support when needed. These donations enable the Red Cross to respond to disasters at a moment’s notice — offering a safe place to sleep, a hot meal, emotional support, and resources to aid in recovery — while also helping prepare people and communities for future disasters. In 2023, we expanded our partnership with the Red Cross to the $500,000 giving level which includes preparedness, relief, and recovery support for those impacted by disasters big and small in the U.S. and across the world.
“As extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity, we continue to count on forward-thinking ADGP members like Kraft Heinz Foundation to help power our relief efforts,” said Anne McKeough, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. “We’re so very grateful for Kraft Heinz Foundation’s donation, which underscores their commitment to compassion in times of crisis.”
Supporting Communities in Need
Feeding America
Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 partner agencies that serve every county in America. In Feeding America’s words, “to end hunger, we have to make hunger unacceptable,” and that is why the organization encourages everyone to take action in the fight to end hunger in America, where 34 million people—1 in 10 people—face food insecurity.
Our relationship with Feeding America dates back to Kraft Foods Group. Inc., as one of the original groups to provide the organization with financial support in the 1980s.
Today, Kraft Heinz helps Feeding America achieve its mission in a three-pronged approach. First, we help partner food banks meet immediate hunger needs through food donations from our corporate operations. In 2023, we donated more than 28 million pounds of food to the Feeding America network through 33 local partner food banks aligned with our U.S. manufacturing sites, bringing our total since 2019 to more than 106 million pounds of food donated. Second, through the Kraft Heinz Foundation’s philanthropic giving, we are able to significantly amplify food donations to families in need on a planned basis provide funds to partner food banks everywhere Kraft Heinz employees live and work. Third, we further partner with Feeding America through cause marketing and volunteerism, all aimed at our shared mission to end hunger.
“The movement to end hunger requires dedicated partnerships. Through generous donations of food and funds, and the enthusiastic support from employees volunteering at food banks, Kraft Heinz has consistently demonstrated its commitment to our shared mission of providing people with access to the resources they say they need to thrive.”
– Casey Marsh, Chief Development Officer, Feeding America
Heifer International
“On our 80th anniversary at Heifer International, we are so proud to continue our partnership with the Kraft Heinz Foundation. They are deeply aligned with our mission with small scale farmers around the world to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Both of our organizations are committed to providing self-sustaining food sources to enable our farmers to create a sustainable livelihood. Together, we have produced a total of 342,100,000 meals to empower farmers to create a living income for their families. It’s a privilege working with an organization who understands the complexities of the hunger crisis and is willing to work with Heifer International on sustainable solutions.”
– Surita Sandosham, President and CEO, Heifer International
Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign
“It’s an honor to continue working alongside the Kraft Heinz Foundation to ensure all kids get three nutritious meals a day. Since the start of our partnership together, No Kid Hungry has worked to connect millions of kids and communities with the resources they need to thrive. These milestones are made possible by our partners like the Kraft Heinz Foundation and their ongoing dedication to our joint mission to end childhood hunger.”
–Anne Filipic, CEO, Share Our Strength
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
“The Kraft Heinz Foundation is a committed partner of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. This spring, we saw record highs for both the number of people coming through our doors for food at The Market, our onsite pantry, and the amount of food distributed through our agencies across southwestern Pennsylvania. With support from the Foundation, the Food Bank has been able to meet this great demand and provide nutritious meals so families and children can thrive. We are sincerely thankful to have the support of Kraft Heinz to help alleviate hunger in the three rivers region.”
– Lisa Scales, President and CEO, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Greater Chicago Food Depository
“Our longtime Chicago neighbors, The Kraft Heinz Company, remain a Strategic Partner of the Greater Chicago Food Depository and our work to end hunger in collaboration with 800 community partner sites across Cook County. Since 2016, Kraft Heinz has provided the equivalent of more than 5.6 million meals to our neighbors facing food insecurity, including children and older adults–600,000 meals in the last year alone. We are so grateful to Kraft Heinz for helping us to create a truly Greater Chicago.”
– Kate Maehr, Executive Director and CEO, Greater Chicago Food Depository
Food Banks Canada – You Buy, We Give
In 2023, Kraft Heinz Canada ran its annual benefit campaign for Food Banks Canada, Groceries for Good. During the four-week campaign, Canadians joined the fight against food insecurity by purchasing participating Kraft Heinz products in store or online. For each participating product purchased, Kraft Heinz matched a meal donation to Food Banks Canada. Participating products included Philadelphia, Classico, Maxwell House, Nabob, Heinz, and select Kraft brands. This initiative, which is part of a larger five-year, $20 million dollar product donation to Food Banks Canada, is helping connect the millions of Canadians affected by food insecurity to the meals they need. To further support Food Banks Canada throughout the campaign, Kraft Heinz mobilized teams of employees to volunteer at local food banks across Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.
Magic Breakfast
In 2023, we celebrated the fifth year of our partnership with Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides healthy school breakfasts to hungry and malnourished children in disadvantaged areas of the U.K. What began as a partnership around a shared goal of helping ensure no child is too hungry to learn in the U.K. has since evolved into a deep collaboration between Magic Breakfast and Heinz that looks beyond food support and financial donations to drive long-lasting change to improve child morning hunger. This includes annual engagement initiatives such as mentoring programs and work experience days for students from schools within the Magic Breakfast network. We have also helped lobby members of parliament in support of Magic Breakfast’s goal of leaving no child hungry in the U.K. In addition, to improve the facilitation and provision of hot breakfasts, we launched a project through which we have been able to provide necessary kitchen and catering equipment to Magic Breakfast Schools. In 2023, Kraft Heinz donated more than 2 million meals to children at risk of hunger in the U.K. and maintained delivery of No Added Sugar Heinz Beanz to an increased roster of 300 Magic Breakfast partner schools across England and Scotland, thus taking our total to over 21 million means donated since the start of the partnership.
The Lunchbox Fund
“During 2023, Kraft Heinz provided over one million daily meals to 4,520 Primary and Secondary school children. The meals supported not only their healthy growth, education and development but also enabled food-insecure families to redirect scant income into feeding children when they are not at school. High quality programs tackling nutritional deficiencies, combating diet-related diseases, and shaping healthy eating habits pave the way for lifelong, and intergenerational benefits. As the world faces crises in education, food insecurity, and climate change; school feeding programs emerge as multi-sectoral solutions benefitting agriculture, education, health, nutrition, and social protection. Research puts the return of investment in South African School meals at $53 for every $1 invested, cementing Kraft Heinz’s support of Lunchbox Fund’s programs as a remarkable investment in future generations.”
– Topaz Page-Green, Founder, The Lunchbox Fund
