Media Release
Mangaluru, May 29: ‘Hunger-Free World’, the ongoing CSR programme by Malabar Group to provide nutritious daily meals to the needy, will be expanded to cover more people and cities. At present, as many as 31,000 food packets are distributed under the ambitious programme, initiated to support the United Nations' sustainable development goal 2 - zero hunger. As part of scaling up, 51,000 nutritious food packets will now be distributed.
Thier CSR activities have brought impact in reaching people and bringing positive changes in Karnataka. The Hunger Free World project was initiated at Karnataka in 2023, They are actively one meal per day nearly to 4,450, people and hereafter announcing 7,167 people’s meal per day and around 26,15,955 meals per year at twelve locations across Karnataka. Malabar Charitable Trust takes care of 51000 people’s meals per day and nearly 18.6 million meals per year at 71 locations globally.
At present the programme is implemented in 37 cities spread across 16 states including union territories, apart from a few centers in the gulf countries. As part of the expansion, the programme will now cover 70 cities in 16 States. Besides, the group also plans to launch the same programme for school children in the African nation of Zambia known for the largest level of gold mining in the world.
“There are still plenty of people around us who are struggling to secure at least one square meal a day. We launched this programme as a small hand of help to those governments and agencies working hard to eliminate hunger from our world,” said M P Ahammed.
The Hunger Free World programme is executed with the help of the highly recognized social welfare NGO 'Thanal - Daya Rehabilitation Trust'. Modern kitchens have been set up in different places to prepare nutritious food in a hygienic environment by skilled chefs. The volunteers of Malabar Group and Thanal identify the needy people in the streets and urban suburbs and bring the food packets to their doorsteps.
The NGO volunteers are also surveying the beneficiaries to assess the social and economic causes of hunger. As part of this programme, the Malabar Group in association with Thanal, has already started the `Grandma Home’ project to identify poor and orphaned elderly women and provide them with free food, accommodation, and other health care. Two such `Grandma Homes' have been set up in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Plans are afoot to set up similar homes in Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and a few select cities in Kerala. This will provide an opportunity for neglected and orphaned women to live with dignity. The group has also launched a micro-learning programme to support the primary education of street children.
Apart from this, the Malabar Group is also active in other social welfare and charitable activities like financial assistance for medical care, education support to female students, and partial support for house construction. The group earmarks five percent of the profits from its verticals, including Malabar Gold & Diamonds, as a CSR fund for social welfare activities. The group has already spent Rs 246 crore for such social welfare programmes
Dr Hemalatha, deputy director of food and supplies department Mangaluru; Chithranjan Das, city commission manager Mangaluru City Corporation; Krishna Kumar Poonja, managing trustee of Sevanjalli Charitable Trust Bantwal, and Kannada Rajyotsava Awardee; Moiddin, founder president and helping in Saudi Arabia and KKMA Kannada chapter, and the management members were present at the event at Malabar Gold's Falnir showroom.