What happened: Cargill, a global agriculture and food processing corporation, has collaborated with Rizq, a food distribution social service in Pakistan, to establish the country’s first ever Cargill-Rizq Bank in Lyari, Karachi. The Cargill-Rizq ecosystem will work together to create a food secure community, reduce food wastage and serve up to 200,000 meals annually in the community. RizqBanks are: Storage facilities that save and channelize fresh and dry food. It will also empower and educate the community members and partner agencies with training and workshops. RizqBanks will contribute its four key services to end food insecurity and hunger in Lyari. The four services include: RizqDai (distributes food within the community on a daily basis), RizqRation (identifies and delivers monthly food supplies to food insecure families), RizqBachao Initiative (collect, store and distribute excess food to low-income households), and Rizq Future Generation Program (deploys volunteers from schools and universities to support activities of zero waste and a hunger-free Pakistan). What now: The establishment of a RizqBank in Lyari, Karachi, will effectively serve as a roadmap for interested stakeholders to come together and further create self-sustaining communities across the nation. This model once established in Lyari will also be cascaded at key locations nationwide through this partnership. Rizq is: A people-powered social exchange which focuses on sustaining human. It aims on pushing values of sharing, favor, and compassion to create self-sustaining neighborhoods and communities. Rizq currently has a network of food banks and on-ground partner nonprofits. They Identify food insecure people and provide them with nutritious and stable food supplies. This network is enabled and financed by a National Consortium of Stakeholders and is powered and championed by the youth of Pakistan through technology. Impact: Rizq has been able to distribute more than 10 million meals and saved up to more than 1 million kilograms of excess food which consequently has been distributed amongst the most destitute people. Moreover, Rizq has provided sustenance to more than a thousand families through Rizq Food Banks in the Rizq enabled communities. Rizq, CEO: “We are thankful to Cargill Pakistan for joining with Rizq on its mission to make a hunger-free Pakistan. This partnership has enabled our collective measures to reach broader communities and empower them with food security in a very short period of time. The day is not far when every household in Pakistan will be food-secure and no growth will be stunted.” Cargill has: 155,000 employees across 70 countries, who work relentlessly to achieve the purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. The company connects farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with food they need to thrive. The company combines 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. As well as, build a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. About Cargill in Pakistan: Cargill started its operations in Pakistan in 1984. Today it has business interests in refined oil, animal feed, grains and oilseeds, cotton, food ingredients, sugar and metals. Cargill is one of the leading suppliers of palm oil and soybeans and cocoa powder to Pakistan, it has offices in Karachi and Lahore. Imran Nasrullah, President of Cargill Pakistan, said: “Like many developing countries, Pakistan faces a food security crisis where millions of families go to bed hungry every day. The Covid19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation to alarming levels. Cargill is proud to partner with Rizq in establishing the RizqBank ecosystem which will ensure that no family will ever have to go to sleep hungry.” What next: Phase Two of the program will establish the Rizq XChange which is a collaborative effort of different stakeholders to mobilize resources to create a hunger-free nation. The Rizq XChange, backed by its cloud-food banking technology, will connect a consortium of stakeholders including NGOs, corporations, schools, restaurants, hospitals, and universities as well as volunteer programs from all walks of society to reach verified beneficiaries in real-time through a nationwide network of RizqBanks. Rizq XChange platform will be a true depiction of connectivity, measurable impact, and transparency of food philanthropy in Pakistan. For more information visit sharerizq.com/
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