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:
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