National Foods donates to charity 

Malvern Nkomo-Business Reporter

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed food manufacturer National Foods Limited last week handed out groceries and foodstuffs worth US$1 100 to four charities.

 National Foods continues to exercise unwavering support and commitment towards transforming lives through multiple corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, playing an active role in the socio-economic development of the nation.

Addressing guests at the National Foods CSR event on Friday, Tabeth Melusi, the company administrative assistant said “We are who we are today because of the trust in our communities, consumers and all our stakeholders”.

The beneficiaries of the donation were Homefields Centre, Runyararo and Domboshava children’s homes, Ruvimbo special school and Felly Orphanage.

The items donated included 12x 2kg cases of Read Seal rice, 80x 10kgs Red Seal roller meal,  8 cases of 2kg Gloria self-cake flour, 12x 500g cases of Red Seal sugar beans, 12x 250g boxes of Irish biscuits to mention but a few.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange quoted company said it provides and donates food which is enough to make 3,9 million meals per annum.

“The 3,9 million meals per annum provided by National Foods have seen the underprivileged being taken care of and also being fed and one of our key responsibilities is to plough back to the community.

“The company took full responsibility for two charities in each of the ten provinces in the country, where packages of food are sent out each month,” the company said.

CSR deals with how companies manage their economic, social and environmental impacts and it is the whole process of ploughing to communities from which companies draw their strength and National Food has since taken a huge step towards achieving this objective.

The company has shown its desire to move beyond philanthropic work to more impactful approaches that impact stakeholder needs.

The 103-year-old company is said to be supporting a total of 46 organisations including children’s homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals, and churches to mention but a few.

Speaking at the same event, the group’s human resources executive Alice Pawarikanda said “As a company, we offer 3,9 million meals per annum and together we feed and nourish the nation.”

National Foods started in 1920 with Gloria and Red Seal brands focusing on flour and maize and has since grown and now possesses a broad range of basic foods including maize-meal, flour, cooking oil, margarine, rice, snacks and a full range of animal feeds.

Recently, the company delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange where it had been trading since 1975 and it was listed on the Victoria Falls Exchange.

The food manufacturer also added a maize-based cereal the Pearlenta smart carb to its product portfolio and continues to venture in new avenues which grow and strengthen the company.