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Header image courtesy of Polina Tankilevitch
While many of us are anticipating a grand feast to share with our families over the holidays, there are still a high number of people all over the city who are worrying about when they will be able to secure their next meal. As a place with one of the world’s highest rifts in living standards, conditions surrounding the impoverished in Hong Kong have sadly worsened during the time of COVID-19.
Hoping to turn a new chapter, Wellcome has introduced their Rice Donation Charity Programme, which aims to raise up to HKD $5,000,000 between now and the year ahead, in order to help feed the needy.
Did you know that up to 1.6 million individuals in Hong Kong are currently living under the poverty line? Joining hands with the locally-based Foodlink Foundation, Wellcome’s new donation scheme adds a new spin on the core model of giving behind the charity. Believing that fighting hunger can be achieved in tandem with reducing food wastage from F&B enterprises and hotels, Foodlink Foundation have created a strong link between outlets with surplus supply, and those who cannot afford access to food, closing the consumption loop and limiting waste in the process.
As Hong Kong’s longest-standing supermarket brand, this is a nod to the spirit of community and giving that has been long ingrained into the brand values of Wellcome. This innovative programme joins together a fantastic initiative with their superb range of Yu Pin King products.
Featuring delicious Hom Mali Jasmine rice imported from Thailand, the Yu Pin King line reflects the deep-rooted importance of rice not only as an ingredient in our cuisine, but also as something that holds our local community together. Foodlink Foundation has provided tons of nutritious hot meals to low-income families and elderly people, as well as the homeless, showcasing that by working together, we can help bring betterment to the livelihoods of those in need.
Kickstarting the programme with a starting donation of $3,000,000, Wellcome is taking the first step in encouraging everyone to share their compassion for the impoverished. For every kilogramme of Yu Pin King rice sold, Wellcome will be matching it with a donation of $0.5, which will be tallied up in one year’s time before being used to purchase over 16 million bowls of rice to be donated as part of Foodlink Foundation’s hot meals.
There are also opportunities to double your donation, as Yu Pin King purchases on the first day of every month will contribute to a $1 per kilogramme donation! This will also be applicable to purchases during the important Chinese festivals of Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn festival, and the Winter Solistice, further emphasizing the importance of sharing your blessings with others, as these holidays are centred around time with the family. Adding on to that, select food items from the Yu Pin King brand will be chosen by Wellcome to be donated on a “you-buy-one, we-donate-one" basis, adding to the rotation of dishes to be enjoyed by the recipients.
The Rice Donation Charity Programme encompasses all 12 varieties of rice products from the Yu Pin King brand, which you can find at all Wellcome supermarket stores, selected Marketplace outlets, as well as at 7-Elevens all across Hong Kong and Sanmius across Macau. Even though you might not be sitting at the same dinner table as the beneficiaries themselves, through this programme, you can still have the chance to at least share a piping hot bowl of rice with them. Check out this real-time tracker set up by Wellcome to see your how your contributions are helping to grow the cause!
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