Small Acts, Big Impact: Add Hope is Nourishing Brighter Futures for Children

The DO MORE FOUNDATION’s partnership with KFC, through its Add Hope initiative which sees both customers and the KFC business collaborating to raise funds, is based on a fundamental alignment in approach - small actions add up to create meaningful change for children nationwide.

The most recent General Household Survey indicates that over 2,6-million young children in South Africa were living below the food poverty line in 2022. This means 38.5% of children aged from birth to five years were not getting enough nutrition.

Against this backdrop, KFC is providing an essential contribution to ending childhood hunger and malnutrition in South Africa through its Add Hope initiative. This R2 (added to KFC contributions) voluntary donation from KFC customers accumulates to feed more than 30 million nutritious meals to children every year throughout South Africa. Collectively, these simple transactions snowball to have a national and long-lasting impact on the lives of young children.

Fueling learning and growth in the early years

Since partnering with the Foundation in 2022, Add Hope has funded a total of 7 380 000 meals of DoMore Porridge. This translates into 28 097 young children having enjoyed a bowl of nutritious porridge each school day while attending an early learning programme in six provinces across South Africa.

The positive impact extends beyond serving the immediate basic need of feeding hungry stomachs. Poor nutrition has long-term adverse effects on a child's brain development before the age of five, as 90% of brain growth and development takes place between conception and five years. Without good nutrition, young children are susceptible to stunting, which is a proxy for poor cognitive development and is the single best predictor of an adult’s economic potential.

Excitingly, Add Hope is doubling its support this year to enable the Foundation to expand our nutrition programme into an additional four communities, namely Krugersdorp, Boksburg, Wolwehoek and Bushbuckridge. This means an additional 28 500 young children will be served a bowl of nutritious DoMore Porridge each school day.

Fostering brighter futures for young children through partnerships

The Add Hope programme exemplifies the power of collective action, and this remarkable growth underscores the profound impact achievable through small, individual acts of generosity amplified on a grand scale. As KFC’s mantra says, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

By partnering, Add Hope and the Foundation are building brighter futures for young children who are vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition, because with a full stomach a child can focus on learning while at their Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre. A bowl of DoMore Porridge is the fuel that these young children need to learn, grow, and thrive each day.

Contact our Partnerships Team to work with us to create better tomorrows for South Africa’s young children, their families, and communities: iris.naidoo@domore.org.za