Dole Food Company has renewed its partnership with the No Kid Hungry campaign in a bid to end childhood hunger in the US. 

The collaboration is seeing the US-based fruit and vegetable provider donate items across impacted cities, offer nutrition education and initiatives that address hunger and ensure children have access to three healthy meals a day. 

“Prior to the pandemic, the number of children living with hunger dropped to the lowest level in decades. once the pandemic hit, however, school buildings closed, millions of parents lost their jobs and the number of children living with hunger skyrocketed,” says Diana Hovey, senior vice president, corporate partnerships at Share our Strength which runs the No Kid Hungry campaign. 

“Many of the challenges we faced were new, but thanks in part to partners like Dole, we had the resources, the relationships and the know-how to immediately respond to help feed kids and families that needed it most,” she adds.

Compensating for food insecurity 
The COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of children in hunger.Dole Food’s partnership with the campaign first began in the summer of 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 impact, leaving schools closed and millions of children left facing hunger.

“Addressing hunger and food insecurity for children is at the core of our purpose as a fresh produce company. Promoting health and well-being and driving consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is one way we can help every day,” says William Goldfield, Dole Food’s director of corporate communications.

Though the UN aims to achieve zero hunger by 2030, COVID-19 pushed the world off track, with global hunger rates on a steep rise across the world. 

This has further strengthened calls to not just provide food but nutrition, as both food insecurity and malnutrition are on the rise. 

Attempts to end hunger
As part of the collaboration, the brands will be carrying out initiatives to raise money in a bid to ensure children across the US get healthy food. 

“Both brands envision a future wher all communities have access to the food they need to grow, learn, and achieve, regardless of their circumstances or the current challenges to food access,” highlights Hovey.Companies are trying to tackle both hunger and malnutrition.  

Earlier this year, DSM highlighted that hundreds of millions of children across the globe suffer from “hidden hunger.” While they are consuming enough calories to survive, the absence of a nutrient-rich, balanced diet leaves them lacking in essential vitamins and minerals. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN previously told NutritionInsight that aside from being part of corporate social responsibility, combating malnutrition is piquing consumer and government interest, and it is in the private sector’s benefit to satisfy these demands.

Last month, a total of 53 institutional investors pledged to tackle global nutrition challenges, calling on F&B companies to take action in delivering better nutrition outcomes. Representing US$12.4 trillion in assets under management, they announced there are “mutual benefits” in targeting the global nutrition crisis.