When Kraft Heinz was faced with the challenge of delivering food to the nonprofit organization Rise Against Hunger, it set out to leverage its existing sourcing network through the Kraft Heinz Rise Together sourcing program.
The program, piloted in 2022, led to the creation of a cross-functional team of supply chain, operations, legal, environmental, social and governance experts, said Kraft Heinz Eastern Agriculture & Sustainability. Director Sarah Zeidan told Supply Chain. Let’s take a closer look at the email. Experts worked with nonprofits to find ways to seamlessly deliver food and helped create a blueprint for future logistics challenges.
This year, the company has already donated $15 million to Rise Against Hunger and has extended its partnership with the nonprofit organization for the next three years, as both companies continue to work together to expand their efforts.
“This program allows Kraft Heinz procurement professionals to volunteer their time and expertise to help Rise Against Hunger on procurement and supply chain challenges through negotiations and collaboration with our strategic suppliers. Our goal is to double the impact of Rise Against Hunger’s global meal donation program by 2027,” Zeidan said.
Zeidan said the company is currently in strategic discussions with four global suppliers in the areas of raw materials, packaging and logistics.
A key part of Kraft Heinz’s work with nonprofit organizations is providing nutritional products such as Heinz beans, infant porridge, biscuits, beverages, and sauces to local communities.
Kraft Heinz also partners with logistics companies. Zeidan said Maersk would transfer donations across the UK and Europe “to deliver aid to people in need at a time when logistics shortages and inflation are at record highs.”
“We partner with our logistics suppliers to provide logistics services as a donation to Rise Against Hunger. This service also includes providing critical customs clearance where necessary,” Zeidan said. he added.
The program’s efforts in 2023 delivered more than 20 truckloads of food worth approximately $500,000 to Rise Against Hunger. The nonprofit distributed aid to people facing food insecurity in Ukraine, Turkiye, and Syria. Additionally, six truckloads of food were delivered to other nonprofit organizations.
