Daily CSR
Daily CSR

Daily CSR
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Helping The Ones Who Are Not Sure About Their Next Meal



12/04/2018

Caterpillar’s collaborative venture to alleviate poverty through emergency food distribution centres.


Dailycsr.com – 04 December 2018 – In an announcement the Caterpillar Foundation revealed that it would be investing with “Second Harvest Japan” for providing direct household assistance especially the ones in need in the form of “pantries, care packages and mobile pantries”.
 
The “Second Harvest Japan” offers a variety of healthy foods for a wide category of people, “including refugees” coming from over sixty five countries. Moreover, the organisation also helps people who are under “dietary restrictions” which often determine the acceptance of help from the family.
 
The commitment of Caterpillar Foundation extends to the support of programmes that deal with poverty alleviation investing to address the “root causes”. It started to invest in “Second Harvest Japan” from the year of 2006, as it understands the “importance of collaboration and research”.
 
In the words of the Caterpillar Foundation’s President, Michele Sullivan:
“We are proud to work with Second Harvest Japan to help those who may not know where their next meal will come from. Through our work, we support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on ending poverty and hunger. When people’s basic human needs are met, they are able to more effectively pursue economic and educational opportunities. And when they can do so, an entire community can benefit.”
 
While, the Chief Executive Officer of Second Harvest Japan, Charles McJilton added:
“It has been an honor for us to partner with the Caterpillar Foundation to work on this important project. Over the years, Caterpillar and the Caterpillar Foundation have been incredible partners by supporting us with volunteers and funding. Being a pioneer in creating a food safety-net for Japan can be challenging, but with partners like Caterpillar working alongside us, we are reminded that we do not do this work alone. Together we are providing the future with a new public asset – one that will match surplus food with those in need and give peace of mind to many, many households.”
 
Although Japan faces a “relatively high poverty rate”, there are “very few” arrangements to provide “emergency food assistance”. Only in Tokyo, the population living below the poverty line amounts to “nearly two million”, while the “food assistance distribution sites” are less than twenty in numbers. On the other hand, in New York the number of such centres goes up to “1,100”.
 
The Second Harvest Japan aims to make “a food safety-net for 100,000 unique users in Tokyo by 2020” under the project titled “Tokyo 2020: Food for 100,000”.
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com