David Novack0:08
Well, we're a global company. We're in 112 countries with Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. And this is a global issue. Over a million people a year are starving, and a person every six seconds dies from hunger. So we were looking for an initiative where we could make a difference in the world. When we looked at hunger and what the great things the United Nations World Food Program is doing, it was a natural fit for us to use our global scale to really make a difference. So we're really attacking this from a fundraising perspective. We're raising money in all of our restaurants. We're attacking it from building awareness of the issue. We've converted media, we have point of purchase in our restaurants, which provides huge visibility to the issue. When people find out about the issue, they want to get involved. Last year for Al loan, we raised $16 million in just one week. In terms of involvement, we had 4 million volunteer hours across our system. So in the next five years, we want to take it to the next level. First of all, we've extended our period in store where we'll be collecting money for the World Food Program from one week to four weeks in most countries around the world. We're going to continue to provide the media support and the volunteer hours. As we go forward in the next five years, we want to raise at least $80 million for the cause, which we're very excited about. We think we'll get 20 million volunteer hours because our people are so excited. We have 1.4 million people around the world, so that can be a real army going out in the communities to raise the issue. We also do things here in the United States. We're very proud that we'll donate close to $200 million of prepared food to the hungry here as well. So this is a big global initiative, and we're excited to be a part of it.
Well, you know, all of the countries that we do business in, but we have big businesses all around the world. Outside the United States, we have close to 15,000 restaurants. We're big in every major country.
Well, I really think the biggest thing, and I think what the United Nations World Food Program is so excited about, is that we can bring huge awareness to this issue. When you think about just the visibility we have with our customer base around the world with 35,000 restaurants, we're bringing awareness to an issue that needs to be solved. Once people really understand that it only takes 19 cents a day to feed a person, to save a kid's life, and they get more aware of this issue, I think it'll make a bigger difference on the personal front, the customer front, but also with the government officials as well. You just can't turn your eye away from an issue like this because hunger is an issue that's clearly out there, and it's an unacceptable issue, but it's avoidable if we get involved.
Well, I think we got started on this last year. Obviously, food inflation has just gone through the roof. It's costing the United Nations World Food Program almost 70% more to feed the same amount of people this year. So that's just made this issue even more pronounced and put more of a sense of urgency in all of us that are committed to making a difference.
No, I think one thing about doing good is you're inspired in any environment. I think that our people are very inspired to make a difference in the world. Even though the macro environment is tougher from a business perspective, I think the heart stays the same, and the heart of our organization is behind this.
Well, it's very hard to even get a start if you're hungry. What I love about the United Nations World Food Program is they not only feed the hungry, but they also work on building the infrastructure and getting the infrastructure in place so that there can be a sustaining life for the people that are saved on a short-term basis. I'm here at the Clinton Global Initiative, and it's really great to see how Bill Clinton and this organization have really made this the primary focus for the coming year. I think it shows that it's important, and it also shows that when the world leaders can get galvanized behind this, we can truly make an even bigger difference.
