Food firm affirms corporate social responsibility

Most times the simplest gestures could affect other people in more meaningful ways than some of the more grandiose, well-intentioned undertakings.

That’s exactly what CDO Foodsphere Inc.– one of the country’s biggest processed meat companies is doing this Christmas with its corporate social responsibility arm– Odyssey Foundation Inc.

For this Christmas season, CDO’s major project "Christmas Ham for a Cause" will have the company keeping P5 for each CDO Holiday Ham sold in Metro Manila supermarkets from December 1 to 31.

The company is projecting its CDO Holiday Ham sales to reach 40,000 to 50,000 pieces or about P200,000 to P250,000. The entire proceeds will be donated to the Gabay Buhay Project of Odyssey Foundation, a supplemental feeding program it launched earlier this year.

"Our concept is simple. We chose as a responsible corporate citizen, an advocacy campaign to save thousands of poor Filipino children from malnutrition. We feel strongly about our social duty to support in whatever way we can to alleviate the conditions of less fortunate children," said Jonathan Bendicion, CDO senior marketing manager .

Bendicion noted that since the launch of the Gabay Buhay Project earlier this year, some 116 children from Valenzuela City were saved from malnutrition. These previously undernourished children had their graduation rites and received individual certificates of their health status.

The Foundation identified these kids from Barrio Paso de Blas, Valenzuela City, one of the areas in Metro Manila with the highest incidence of child malnutrition aside from Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas.

Their conditions at that time ranged from mild and severe malnutrition. After a series of weighing, deworming and medical check ups, these children aged three to six years old were enrolled in the supplemental feeding program.

After seven weeks of social preparation, the Foundation started its 16-week program that ended last October 7. The kids were fed Tuesday to Friday in intervals in the afternoon with nutritious meals such as lomi, pancit bihon, pancit canton, turon with juice, champorado, chicken arrozcaldo, munggo with milk and sotanghon.

Multivitamins were also given for free courtesy of United Laboratories. The children were then weighed every month to monitor improvements on their health while their nutrition status were recorded.

Last November 22, the second batch of beneficiaries started their 16-week feeding program.

"Our vision is to include 700 poor and hungry children from malnutrition by the end of 2006, or 1,500 kids by 2007. It may not be big compared to magnitude that need this program but probably it could mothball into similar projects or replicated by other sectors," said Bendicion.

The Foundation’s focus on alleviating child malnutrition was prompted by the alarming rate of malnutrition in the country’s poorest sectors. Three out of every 10 preschool children are underweight because their families could not provide adequate for them.

"Child malnourishment is a social program that strongly affects the young, our future leaders.. The program has given poor children a chance to experience healthy childhood which is essential for them to become productive citizens of the country," said Eleanore Erguiza, one of the social workers of the Foundation.

Bendicion said the "Christmas Ham for a Cause" project of the Foundation should be able to attract consumers in this season of merrymaking and gift-giving.

"Filipino consumers will like the idea that they are not just buying for themselves a delicious holiday ham but are also giving back something in return for all their blessings.We are confident we can sustain the feeding program long after the holidays are over," Bendicion concluded.