Unilever’s largest brand partners with the UN World Food Programme to gather pledges in support of zero hunger

On World Food Day (October 16, 2014), Knorr is partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)1 rallying people globally to pledge their support for building a world with zero hunger at www.wfp.org/pledge. Knorr will also support WFP’s ‘Home Grown School Meals Programme’ and provide one million nutritious, cooked meals for school children in Kenya, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Around one in nine people in the world—many of them children—do not receive enough food and nutrition to lead a healthy life2 and build strong futures. Along with providing the right nutrition, WFP school meals act as a powerful incentive to get more of the 58 million children who don’t attend lessons3 into school.

That is why Unilever and WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency, are partnering to help address hunger bringing nutritious food within reach of more people. Since 2007, Unilever has provided more than $26 million of support to the World Food Programme.

“Enhancing livelihoods and improving our positive social impact are key elements of our Sustainable Living Plan; and this includes our responsibility to addressing global issues such as food security and poverty alleviation. Knorr’s partnership with the World Food Programme on World Food Day is an initiative that will help us drive positive long-term change and give children access to the nutritious food that can help them reach their full potential in life,” said Paul Polman, CEO Unilever.

Ertharin Cousin, the World Food Programme Executive Director, added: “I am very pleased to see brands like Knorr join our global movement on World Food Day and support transformational projects like our Home Grown School Meals Programme. This support will have an immediate impact in the lives of children and on communities in Kenya, Indonesia and the Philippines. It will also help us get that much closer to achieving a zero hunger world.”

Improving the lives of communities and creating a brighter future for children

The theme for World Food Day 2014 is ‘Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth’, chosen to raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farmers. It focuses attention on the significant role family farming plays in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment and achieving sustainable development, particularly in rural areas.

The one million school meals commitment Knorr is delivering through WFP’s ‘Home Grown School Meals Programme’ will improve the lives of families and communities. For example, in Kenya, smallholder farmers will receive expert support from the WFP to help them produce higher yields of better quality crops which can then be provided to local schools. Women from local communities are then shown how to use this food as ingredients for cooking nutritious school meals. The meals not only provide school children with improved nutrition but also act as an incentive to attend class and receive an education towards a brighter future.

Additionally, Unilever US is supporting the UN World Food Programme and will provide an additional 500,000 meals in 2014 to children in Ecuador.

To help raise awareness by pledging support for zero hunger, learn more about the partnership and hear the stories from the local communities visit www.wfp.org/pledge and follow the conversation on social media using #1MILLIONMEALS.

About Knorr and the World Food Programme Partnership around World Food Day, October 16, 2014

Pledge to support zero hunger by visiting www.wfp.org/pledge.

Unilever, the manufacturer of Knorr, and the World Food Programme have been working in partnership since 2007. During this time, Unilever has provided over $26 million of support to WFP’s work in the developing world.

At the heart of the World Food Day partnership is Knorr’s support of the WFP’s ‘Home Grown School Meals Programme’ which will be delivered through the Unilever Foundation.

Supporting both Knorr’s Unilever Sustainability Living Plan ambition and brand purpose, the program supports local smallholder farmers to develop better practices for growing and harvesting crops, which are provided to local schools. Members of the community turn these crops into nutritious, cooked meals for school children – often the only nourishing meal the children receive that day.

By supporting the Home Grown School Meals Programme, Knorr can help create a brighter future for school children in Kenya, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Zero Hunger Challenge is a UN initiative that encourages action with the goal of eliminating hunger in our lifetime. Paul Polman signed a petition at Davos ‘14 declaring his and Unilever’s commitment to working towards this ambition. Knorr is the first Unilever brand to support the Zero Hunger Challenge through their partnership with the World Food Programme’s ‘Home Grown School Meals Programme’ on World Food Day.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

For more information about Unilever USA and its brands, please visit www.unileverusa.com.

About Knorr

In 1838, Carl Heinrich Knorr moved to the German city of Heilbronn where he opened a factory and experimented with food drying techniques in order to preserve and guarantee quality, flavour and freshness.

Over time, Knorr has built on Carl Heinrich Knorr’s innovation legacy from the advent of the stock cube in 1910, to stock pots and bake-in-bags over the 21st century. Today, Knorr still defines itself by those same high standards of quality, flavour and freshness.

Knorr is one of the world’s largest food brands, sold in more than 87 countries around the world. Based in Heilbronn, Germany, Knorr is Unilever’s largest brand, with a yearly sales value of 4 billion Euros.

At Knorr, we are dedicated to delivering great tasting products. Iconic bouillon cubes and soups are at the heart of the brand.

Knorr chefs are culinary experts and creators of Knorr products. Knorr employs over 300 chefs representing over 48 nationalities and is one of the biggest employers of professional chefs worldwide.

We are committed to a sustainable future through sourcing agricultural ingredients responsibly and building sustainable practices. As part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, Knorr has committed to source 100% of their agricultural ingredients sustainably by 2020.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

For more information about Unilever USA and its brands, please visit www.unileverusa.com.

About the World Food Programme

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food in emergencies and working with communities to build resilience. In 2013, WFP assisted more than 80 million people in 75 countries.

World Food Day was established in 1981 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (‘FAO’). On October 16, organizations around the world mobilise advocacy campaigns and events to strengthen the political will to end hunger.

World Food Day offers the chance to strengthen national and international solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and to celebrate achievements in food security and agricultural development.

The UN General Assembly has designated 2014 “International Year of Family Farming.” This is a strong signal that the international community recognizes the important contribution of family farmers to world food security. For more information about WFP, please visit www.wfp.org.

1 WFP does not endorse any product or service.

2 The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2013 http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/2013/en/

3 UNESCO: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/out-of-school-children.aspx

Unilever Media RelationsJaime Stein, 201-894-7760MediaRelations.USA@unilever.com

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