LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Kentucky Fried
Chicken® announced it will donate 621,000 pounds of food to food
banks across the country, enough food to provide more than 600,000
meals for people in need, through its Harvest program. Including
this large, one-time donation, KFC will have provided 1.2 million
pounds of food already this year to help combat the critical
shortages at food banks across the country amidst the COVID-19
pandemic.
KFC has been donating surplus food from its U.S. restaurants in
partnership with Food Donation Connection for more than 20 years
through the Harvest Program, KFC's prepared food donation program.
Through Harvest, participating KFC restaurants donate wholesome,
unsold food to hunger relief agencies in communities across the
U.S. So far in 2020 alone, KFC restaurants have donated 652,579
pounds of food to 757 local charities in 48 states through the
Harvest program, and this critical work continues during this time
of increased food insecurity.
Since it began Harvest in 1999, KFC restaurants have donated
more than 82 million pounds of food to organizations that feed
individuals in need through organizations like Louisville, Ky.-based Kentucky Harvest, a
valued partner since 2000, which has received more than 968,000
pounds of prepared food donated from KFC.
"So many Americans are facing unexpected challenges, but hunger
should never be one of them. As we continue to navigate this
crisis, we remain committed to our core values – among them is
keeping America fed," said Kevin
Hochman, president, KFC U.S. "With our restaurant buffets
currently unavailable to dine-in customers, it has created a unique
opportunity for us to reallocate our resources on a large scale to
feed those in need and address critical shortages in food banks.
Rather than letting this food remain in distribution centers, we
wanted to mobilize it quickly to help."
KFC franchisees have also been feeding frontline workers,
families and children in need, and making sizeable donations to
area food banks. The Pete and Arline Harman Trust Fund has
committed to a $100,000 donation
spread across food banks in Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake
City, Sacramento and the
San Francisco Bay Area.
Pete Harman was KFC's first
franchisee and his organization remains one of KFC's largest
franchisees in the U.S.
In the wake of COVID-19, KFC has also made the following
commitments to support its people, communities and franchisees:
- Continuing to keep America fed: KFC is open and ready to
feed your family. KFC is offering free delivery for a limited time
(minimum $20 order) with contactless
delivery available, in addition to remaining open for drive-thru
and carry-out.
- Increased safety measures for customers and team
members: KFC recently announced new measures to increase the
health and safety of consumers and employees across the U.S.
including:
-
- Distribution of thermometers with infrared contactless
temperature scanners to every restaurant, and implantation of
temperature checks for every employee prior to their shift
start.
- Distribution of non-surgical, single-use masks for restaurant
team members across the U.S.
- Instillation of acrylic front counter shields in restaurants,
providing a safety barrier between team members and guests.
- Using a drive-thru extender payment pad to further limit
contact between customers and employees.
- Supporting our team members: KFC franchisees, many of
whom are small, local business owners all over the country have
been working to support and celebrate their individual teams
through bonuses, hourly pay increases, meals for their employees
and their families, pay continuation for employees impacted by
COVID-19, and a variety of other financial incentives. In addition,
they joined forces to create a Grocery Assistance Fund through the
KFC Foundation to provide $500,000
worth of groceries to team members across its more than 4,000 U.S.
restaurants to celebrate and support its workforce.
- Feeding our communities: KFC recently donated one
million pieces of chicken to provide relief to communities in need,
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the donation, KFC franchisees
across the country were able to provide meals to organizations of
their choice in their local communities. In addition to the one
million pieces of chicken donation, KFC franchisees have been
stepping up their relief efforts across the country, donating
thousands of meals to frontline healthcare workers, feeding
families in need and providing meals to essential workers.
- Supporting children in need: In March, KFC announced a
$400,000 donation to Blessings in a
Backpack to provide meals to children who may otherwise go hungry
due to school closures.
- Providing relief to franchisees: KFC will grant
franchisees a 60-day grace period on current royalties. KFC parent
company Yum! Brands (including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) has
also deferred all 2020 capital obligations for remodels and new
unit development through the end of this year.
For more information about KFC's efforts to support franchisees,
employees and customers during the coronavirus pandemic, please
visit www.kfc.com/coronavirus.
About KFC
KFC Corporation, based in Louisville,
Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain. KFC
specializes in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™, Kentucky Grilled
Chicken® and Extra Crispy™ Tenders, Hot Wings®, KFC Famous Bowls®,
Pot Pies, freshly hand prepared chicken sandwiches, biscuits and
homestyle side items. There are more than 24,000 KFC restaurants in
over 145 countries and territories around the world. KFC
Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville,
Ky. (NYSE: YUM). For more information,
visit www.kfc.com. Follow KFC on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/kfc), Twitter (www.twitter.com/kfc) and Instagram
(www.instagram.com/KFC).
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SOURCE KFC